


For Survival

by corinnemaree



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:34:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4135893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corinnemaree/pseuds/corinnemaree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a collection of Owen x Claire drabbles, prompts and fics. They will vary in length, category (fluff, angst, smut), and warnings will be given when necessary.<br/>1 - Claire and Owen find a unhatched dinosaur egg and take care of it like parents<br/>2 - A proper second date<br/>3 - Claire steals one of Owen's shirts, and when he sees her in it...it does things for him<br/>4 - Owen's reaction to hearing Claire's nephews say "boyfriend."<br/>5 - Years after the Jurassic World incident, Claire decides she wants to be a mother with Owen by her side<br/>6 - Owen takes Claire on a second date, which includes mini golf and a small confession from Owen<br/>7 - Claire and the T-rex bond<br/>8 - Due to her works and her didn't like physical contact, Claire is actually a virgin. Owen will fix that.<br/>9 - The breaking of heart, and the mending of hearts<br/>10 - Claire has a sexy dress on to go out but it does things for Owen, so much so that he can't let Claire go out.<br/>11 - Instead of Zach and Gray, it's Claire and Owen that jump off the cliff<br/>12 - Fake Relationship trope<br/>13-16 - A Sheriff And A Bandit</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Parents of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> So this one kind of went a little differently then the prompt but I like how it ended up? I don't know, I hope you like it.

“Owen, did you seriously take  _an egg_  from the island?” Claire yelled and a sharp shiver went down Owen’s spine. He had hoped to keep this a secret for a while longer, but with Claire, he couldn’t hide much. He didn’t exact take it, it was in a knapsack he managed to take away from the island. He didn’t think anything was in there.

He walked into their living room. Their living room. It was taking some getting used to. Claire stood by the heater, a basket rest on top of it and a small cloth wrapping around the egg. Claire was angry, her hands on her hips and she was ready to yell. Owen was screwed. 

“Did you even think of which dinosaur this could be?!” she asked, her tone low, keeping herself from getting too angry. Owen gave a large smile, hoping it would help. It didn’t seem to. In fact, it seemed to make her a little angrier. Yep, he was screwed.

“I did. I think it’s a triceratops.” he smiled and Claire’s mouth dropped open a little. Owen suspected that if he said any dinosaur, she would have been shocked. It was a freaking dinosaur after all.

“You think?” she scoffed and tossed her hands up in disbelief. They found her hips again and she tried to remain calm, but her voice began to rise. “Did you think of how big this thing is going to get? Or how to feed it?” she asked, and he gave a small shrug. 

“I’ve got a plan.” he said, but he was still trying to figure out what to do with it. He said to himself that he would help hatch it, but he might have to notify someone to actually take care of it. 

“You’re taking care of it.”Claire gave in, walking out of the living room and headed towards the kitchen. 

“Fine.” he called out over his shoulder. He inspected the egg, and nothing seemed to be wrong with it, but the small egg made Owen nervous. He stared patiently at the egg, making sure to find it move at any time.

“And if you can’t do it, I’m not going to help you.” he heard Claire call out, but soon her footsteps came back to the living room. “Owen,” she asked in a soft voice. He turned to her, and she looked nervous for a moment, her fingers fiddling with one another. 

“Yeah?” he asked, stepping towards her. 

“Please make sure you don’t kill it.” she tried to reason, and Owen gave a breathy chuckle. He didn’t expect that to come out of her mouth. He walked over to her, letting his forehead fall against hers. “We’ll call some of the geneticists and see if they can take it when it’s small, and bring it back to the island.” she suggested, and Owen smirked at his beautiful girlfriend. 

“You read my mind.” he whispered back, his voice a lot deeper than he intended. Claire gave a sigh in relief and finally looking up at Owen before biting her lip. 

“Look at you being parent of the year.” Claire smirked, her arms falling around his shoulders, then finally letting her lips fall against his. Owen smiled, loving the feel of her lips against his. They broke apart when they heard the basket move on top of the heater. “I’m calling the geneticists.” Claire rolled her eyes, heading towards the phone. 


	2. A Second Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a (proper) second date fic?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ask and you shall receive! So I got two prompts that said stuff about their second date, so I just decided to combine them into this one. I really hope you like it.

Claire didn’t plan this night. She didn’t want this to be a repeat of their first date. Which was a disaster. But, she couldn’t help but think back on it.

Owen was wearing boardshorts but he had the biggest smile on his face when he greeted her. It was the right touch of goofy and breathtaking. The date itself was following around Claire and her choices, which probably wasn’t the most interesting or fun date that Owen had been on.

It just seemed to be the wrong timing for them. Claire was concentrating on work, and having that worker-bee mindset all the time didn’t help, and Owen was looking for a good date with someone fun.

It was time for Claire to be fun. She wore a black, long sleeved, top that just showed her midriff, paired with a white skirt that hung on her hips. She fixed up her hair one last time, and heard a knock to her front door. Claire pressed her lips together and took a deep breath before heading to the front door. She collected her keys and her purse before opening the door to see Owen. He was pinned together in a three piece grey suit, minus the blazer. He smiled brightly to her, with a simple “Hi,” as she looked at him.

“Owen,” she greeted and was stunned for a moment. She really did like Owen and it was all so nerve wracking to her because she didn’t want to mess it up this time. “Is that a suit?” she found herself saying, thoughtlessly. She scrunched up her nose for a moment, cursing her words.

“Surprised?” he gave a chesty chuckle, and suddenly she relaxed. She didn’t feel so nervous. Just seeing Owen happy made this all seem like it was already perfect.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect.” she breathed out and Owen’s smiled turned to a toothy grin. He extended his hand to her and bit his lip slightly.

“You ready to go?” he asked. She nodded and took hold of his hand.

They walked down the steps and Owen drove them to a little restaurant alongside the beachside. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a good and proper restaurant, and looked very expensive as Claire walked closer to it. They took a slow walk to get there, exchanging a couple of flirty words, a few grazes of the hands and two of three looks given. As they got closer, there seemed to be a hoard of people following them slowly. Owen glanced over his shoulder to look at them.

“So, the cameras and the people…” he asked slowly and Claire gave a heavy sigh.

“Been following me since the island.” she began to explain. Every single she left her house, or went anywhere, people knew who she was. She was the woman that saved 20 million people from dinosaurs. What a legacy. They would ask her how she did it, want pictures and continually asked her about what she experiences. It was hard for Claire to talk about it, rarely bringing it up at all. She had nightmares and lived in a constant state of worry. “Can’t shake them for the life of me.” she scoffed, but it did bother her by how she could never find a private moment.

They got to the restaurant, and Owen tapped twice on a podium, a waiter tending to the reservation bookings stood behind it. “Reservation for two under Grady.” Owen rested his hand against the podium where the reservation book sat.

“We’ll be right back, Mr Grady. Just checking on your table.” the waiter nodded, and Owen turned to Claire. She was little stunned at first, not expecting Owen to make such big plans for the evening. Then it was occurring to her...

“Have you planned out what we’re doing tonight?” she asked, and Owen nodded.

“Well, on our last date you wanted it to be mapped out.” Owen smiled and Claire let herself smile before biting her lip. She reached up to his hand as it still rested on the podium. She pulled on it, holding it between hers.

“Owen. I don’t want this to be a repeat of last time.” she let her fingers skim over his rough skin, feeling his calloused fingers. “Though, I do like the fact that you were willing to do this.” she smirked up at him, and he laughed for just a moment. He ducked his head down before meeting her eyes again.

“So, what do you want to do? We can stay here or we could easily just let things...happen.” he suggested, his head tilting to the side. Claire bit onto her lip before letting out a wonder filled sigh.

“If you were on a date with someone else. What would you want to do right now.” she asked and Owen’s lips turned to a smirk. He took hold of her hand, pulling her aside, and keeping her hand locked against his.

“Let’s go. We can have food anywhere we want, I just want to spend time with you.” he bit onto his lip and Claire gave a chuckle that she wasn’t expecting; it was a combination of pure, unadulterated joy and a giddy sense of wonder. She was so happy to just enjoy her time with Owen.

They ended up walking along the pier for a while, taking in the sea breeze and the managing to find a few stalls that sold food. They had kababs. He talked about his raptors for a short time, his father, and a time where he got stuck in between two fence panels as he tried to sneak off after a party. Claire laughed loudly, a small snort erupting that she wished she had hid for a while longer.

Claire told him how she got involved with the park, how Zach and Gray were doing, including the fact that they wanted to see him again, and to make Owen feel better about admitting that several police officers had to pry him from a fence while he was intoxicated, she gave a story how she was once smoking pot in her room. It ended with the fact that her dad came home early, she tossed the blunt out the window and the grass caught on fire. To that day, her father thought it was the neighbour.

They stood against the railing for a while, the waves crashing against the shoreline, and the stars shining a continuous array of stars dazzling in the water, reflecting the sky. The moon was so big, it was almost hard not to stare at the way it shimmered in the night.

“They really want to know what happened on the island, don’t they?” Owen mentioned sometime later, his hand gripping hers lightly. Claire looked over her shoulder, combing a hand through her hair in a despaired frustration.

“I’m sorry.” she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Don’t be.” he chuckled before moving away from the crowd slowly, but his pace started to pick up. “Come on.” he whispered, then she felt her arm being pulled hard, forcing Claire to run in her heels.

“What? Where are we going?” she asked, looking back to the crowd, who seemed confused and slowly moving towards them.

“Just come on!” he laughed and moved them into a back alley.

“Owen, I’m wearing heels here.” Claire mentioned in frustration.

“You ran from a T-Rex in heels. I’m sure you can run from people just as fast.” Owen called out, and Claire, though it was a horrific event, laughed. It was true and Owen made it easier to laugh about stuff like that, not thinking heavily on their trauma.

They continued down and managed to come out to where they parked the car. They got in and dashed off quickly. Claire looked back, and as they were further away, the crowd gathering around where they jumped into the car, confusingly looking for them. Claire laughed and looked over at Owen, who was smiling so brightly, it made Claire’s heart skip.

They arrived at house, it was small, but quite peaceful. They walked up the steps and Owen unlocked the door, warning Claire that it wasn’t as clean as he would have liked it to be for her. She said she didn’t mind. He opened up the door and it wasn’t what she pictured. It wasn’t messy, more like a few things were out of place but it wasn’t even close to a mess. Owen started to lead them up the stairs, and finally coming to a door. He opened it wide, showing his bedroom.

“Go on,” he urged her towards the bed, and she blinked rapidly. Was she giving off the vibe that she wanted to have sex with him? It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about it, but she didn’t think she was making it obvious.

“Owen...I’m not going to-” she stuttered, not knowing what else say.

“No, no, not like that. Just sit on the bed, I’ll be right back.” he tried to reason, pulling her to sit on the edge of the bed, switching on the TV. _The Princess Bride_ was playing. Only just starting too. Claire loved _The Princess Bride_. She stayed there for a while, not fully relaxing, her fingers fiddling with one another. It was when Owen returned with two buckets of ice cream that Claire finally relaxed.

“Ice cream.” she breathed out in a giggle. Claire settled back into the bed, resting against the headboard and kicking off her heels. Owen sat next to her, placing the buckets in between them and handing Claire a spoon. “What are you even planning here?” she asked some way through the movie. They had eventually just collapsed against each other, their shoulders touching and their heads knocking slightly.

“I’m planning on having a date with a beautiful woman.” he said, a small smirk on his face. Claire’s face erupted into a blushing mess. He just knew how to make her feel special. His idea of a perfect date was just getting to know her, watching movies and sitting with her. If she ever thought Owen was anything but a true romantic, she needed to rethink things.

“Owen,” she muttered, setting her spoon down in one of the buckets. Owen looked over at her in surprise. She knelt on the bed, took his face in her hands, and let her lips crash onto Owen’s. He was taken back but tossed the spoon aside as she leaned against him. He tasted of mint choc chip, and Claire couldn’t help but giggle at the sensation against her lips. She soon fell into his lap, pulling on the back of his neck as their tongues tangled together. Claire needed to breathe, her forehead resting against his. “Aren’t you glad we skipped the reservation?” she breathlessly muttered, Owen gave a soft chuckle before tugging on her tighter.

“So damn glad.” he smirked, his eyes filling with desire to continue where they left off. And so they did, letting their lips explore one another for a long while before they both fell asleep, Owen’s arms covering Claire in a body of protection. She could get used to that. 


	3. Big Shirts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire steals one of Owen's shirts, and when he sees her in it...it does things for him  
> (Warning: Smut)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I might have gone really gay for this cause as soon as I got this I was like ‘holy fucking shit i would have sex with claire if she wore that shirt’. Like imagine little Claire in that big shirt and - oh wait, you don’t have to, cause the fic is right here. This also turned out to be Dominant!Owen and I had to just sit back and relax for a moment cause damn (if i do say so myself) enjoy xx

Claire had the most relaxing shower of her life. It was the right amount of warm and soothing. She jumped out of the shower, drying her hair with a towel and finding one of Owen’s shirt. She thought to herself in the moment ‘what’s the harm?’. She put it on lazily, buttoning up the last few buttons of the show, letting her chest breath. She wanted something loose to wear, and Owen’s big shirts were always a go to. He never knew about this, however, because Claire thought it was better that he kept his clean shirts.

She stood in her ensuite, the soft sound of her radio playing as she brushed her short red hair. She tapped her foot absent-mindedly until she heard Owen huff into bedroom. He must have been exhausted.

Since coming back from Isla Nublar, they had been trying to find new jobs. Well, not new, more like more adventurous solutions to the park, which meant Claire spent her days at board meetings, working on ways to once again contain the dinosaurs, but not allowing access to the public. Owen had the new job of rangler, meaning he was training to keep up to speed with some of the dinosaurs on the island.

Claire stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at Owen as he lazily looked at his feet. He looked exhausted, beads of sweat running across his forehead. His clothes were dirty and his skin stained in different shades of mud. He gave a loud huff again, before his eyes finally rose to her. He was stunned, blinking as he inspected her.

“Hey, how was training today?” she asked, stepping forward, giving him a brief kiss before turning towards the bathroom again. She was, however, pulled back by her elbow, forcing her body to slam against Owen. His hands were tight on her hips, keeping them pinned to his. “Owen,” Claire didn’t  have a moment to question what was going on. Owen’s lips covered her in a swift movement, taking her off balance, and clinging to him. Owen’s lips were harsh against hers, but she let herself fall into the moment. He was breathing heavy, a small groan of desperation vibrated from his lips to hers.

“Owen,” she murmured against him. He gave a small grunt as his hands moved to the small of her back. His fingers dug into her skin, not hurting her, but holding her. Claire pushed against his chest, finally being able to breathe. “What’s up, mister handies.” Claire chuckled.

Owen kept his hands on her hips, then lowered his lips to her neck, speaking between kisses. “You’re wearing my shirt,” his voice was low and husky, Claire couldn’t help but moan. “With nothing else on,” his hands ran up her thighs, skimming underneath the shirt, feeling her bare skin. She gasped at his touch. “You’re so tiny, and god, you’re so damn sexy.” he whispered.

“Owen,” she absently breathed out, his lips cascading down her skin in a trail of fiery kisses. It was something she had never experienced. Owen bent slightly, picking Claire off her feet and laying her on the bed. He kept his shirt on her, only unbuttoning the few buttons she did up before. He let the material stay close to her skin, just covering her nipples. Owen’s hand and fingers ran from the bottom of her her jaw, slowly to her chest, down her stomach and finally landing on her hips.

Claire reached out to him, letting her hands fall against his. He caught them quickly, taking them over her head and holding them together with one hand. Claire caught her breath in her throat. He hovered over her, her chest feeling flushed, she felt like her skin was on fire. She wanted Owen so badly - no - _needed_ Owen. All she wanted to do was kiss him, giving her best pouty face, but all he did was place a finger to her lips. He didn’t laugh or smile. There was a spark in his eye, an electricity that caught in the air also; a mixer of desire and control. It was so strong and Claire felt so small underneath him. She would do anything he said just to feel him inside her at that very moment.

“Don’t move unless I tell you.” his voice was harsh, warning her. She nodded to his waiting eyes. “Legs apart.” he ordered, and she complied, gingerly opening her legs up to him. He took his rightful position between them. He tore his shirt off over his head, kicking down his pants and underwear. Claire didn’t even know how hard he was until he sprung loose from the tight material of his boxers. It bobbed and waited for a touch, and god, did she want to touch it. Owen was concentrating on putting his condom on, but Claire needed him so badly.

“Owen,” Claire breathed out, her hands falling to her side. As Owen finally leaned back down, his brow creased, taking her hands and pinning them firmly to where they once were. Owen’s eyes were now filled with anger and desire, it all pooled in her stomach.

“What did I say?” he warned and she whimpered; it was small but needy. He was being so dominant, Claire wasn’t even sure what was happening to her; she felt like she should give in, let him do what he wanted. He wouldn’t harm her, only wanted to please her. “Hands. Stay. Right. There.” he spaced his words, and Claire’s body shook. He waited once more for her to agree, and she nodded.

Owen let his tip glide over her folds as he licked the edges of his fingers. Her touched her wetness, biting down on his lip as he let his fingers touch her. Then, he let himself sink into her slowly.

“Oh, _god_.” she moaned, her hands finding the pillow beneath her head and clenching onto it tightly. He was all filling her up, and they only just started. She let her nails tear into the sheets, she could feel the material break underneath her hand. Owen’s hands stayed on her hips, helping him move against her.

“Shh,” he calmed her, but his words were said through gritted teeth. He took small strides, letting her moans erupt every time he thrust into her. He had her constantly begging for more, moving her hips down every time she tried to raise them. Claire shut her eyes tightly, her climax building so brutally, it was painful not to have it.

“Eyes open.” he ordered again, and her breathing was becoming sharp. She obliged before Owen hooked a hand behind her head, and his eyes were focused on hers. His eyes stuck glued to hers, and she bit her lip hard, fighting back the urge to fully claw into the mattress.

“Oh..oh..oh, fuc- _fuck_.” she stuttered, her climax coiling so tightly, she was gasping. She covered her mouth before her climax finally exploded, her moans echoing in their room, and she finally reached for Owen’s hands on her hip. Claire’s orgasm rocked through her, her hips bucking against Owen’s. He gave a loud groan, and pushed himself all the way to hilt, forcing Claire’s orgasm to rock her the more. She rolled her hips against his, and his pace became more erratic and another climax was building in her. She began gasping loudly, her nails latching into Owen’s arms. He growled loudly before he tensed and let out a loud moan. He almost collapsed on top of her, but he kept moving, letting Claire reach her climax again. It didn’t take much, and she went flying, clutching onto Owen’s shoulder.

Owen rolled onto his side, his fingers barely touching Claire’s skin, but they traces lines on her heaving chest. He circled her nipples, her breath hitching every time. Then, his hand skimmed down, finding her clit instantly. Claire was still recovering from the mind-blowing orgams that just went through her, she wasn’t ready for him to ruin her another time. But her body, it reacted immediately, arching her back, begging for him to touch her more.

“Oh, god, Owen.” her hand finding his over her sex. She put pressure behind his name and moaning as his touch was torturing her. “Why are you doing this to me?” she chuckled finally, clutching onto the back of his neck. He stared at her, even when she tried to kiss him, he wouldn’t lean down, a focus on his face that made her body cry out for him.

“I want to watch you come, over and over.” he whispered against her lips, but never letting her kiss him. It was torture.

“You’re making it impossible to be mad at you.” she laughed, falling back into the bed, and suddenly, her hovered over her again.

“Why would you be mad at me?” he asked, his nose nudging hers.

“I just had a - ah!” she began, just as he pinched her clit, making her come. She moaned again, helping him move his hand over her sex again, helping her ride out her orgasm. “Shower. And now..now I’m covered in your dirt and sweat and my own come.” she chuckled again, and then finally, he let his lips fall against hers. He was soft, but she was desperate, sinking her tongue into his mouth as soon as she could. She purred and moaned, his hand still cupping her.

“Well, I’m sure we can get you cleaned up again.” he murmured and Claire gave one last sigh as Owen sat up from the bed, taking him with her. He let her keep the shirt.

 


	4. Boyfriend?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen's reaction to hearing Claire's nephews say "boyfriend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t actually know if this is any good? I kinda winged it. I’m sorry.

They were travelling from Isla Nublar, Zach sat next to Owen, and in between Owen and Claire sat Gray, his head resting on Claire’s shoulder. Claire gave glances to Owen, which made his heart feel on edge. She was dirty and gritty, how could she not be? She was running through a prehistoric jungle away from man eating dinosaurs. But she was still beautiful. Owen smiled at her at one stage, which made her give a soft giggle.

“Stop flirting with your boyfriend, Aunt Claire.” Gray murmured, giving a small kick into Owen’s leg.

“What?” Owen asked, a breathy chuckle coming to his lips. Claire’s cheeks flushed and Owen looked at her confused. She avoided his eye.

“Your Aunt Claire’s boyfriend, right?” Gray said, getting up and poking at Owen’s arm. He took a hard swallow.  _What was he supposed to say?_

“Uh, well, it’s complicated, kid.” he smiled. He wasn’t lying. It was very complicated. They still had to sort out what the hell happened on the island, especially how it things were supposed to go. Owen had always had feelings for Claire, they hadn’t gone away because of one shitty date. It just forced them to be further apart than Owen wanted. Owen rubbed the back of his neck when Zach leaned over to Owen.

“You might want to kiss her soon. She won’t wait for you forever.” Zach warned in a whisper.  

Everything else was a blur. He remembered stepping off the boat, walking with Claire for a while but she was sitting with Gray and Zach, he couldn’t interrupt them. He helped out as much as he could, but all his thoughts turned to Claire. She was constantly on his mind since the island. He wanted to keep her safe, wanted to kiss her again, feel her body pressed against his.

It was when he saw Claire walking to him that he focused on what was going. They stood apart for a short few seconds before Claire gave a short sigh.

“So, what now?” she asked and Owen only had to think on it for a moment. He let the words tumble out of his mouth.

“We better stick together, for survival.” he nodded and Claire pressed her lips together in a smile. They began to work towards the exit of the giant hanger. As soon as they got to the gap, Owen couldn’t take it. His hands had been holding onto his hips so tightly, he felt his knuckles crack. He needed to just…tell her. He turned to her, taking hold of her hip lightly. She was taken back for a moment, but as he closed the gap, Claire let her arms grace over his shoulders. He leaned down slowly, taking a small breath before letting his lips touch her nervously.

Claire’s lips instantly responded, pressing to his in a delightful sensation. He let his hands slide around her back, picking her off her feet and her body fell against his. She giggled against his lips. He liked it. Owen let Claire back on her toes, but gave her delicate kisses, not wanting to be parted from her.

“It didn’t freak you out that Gray thought you were my boyfriend?” Claire said, letting her hands fall to Owen’s chest. He shoot his head, giving a small, reassuring smile that Claire obviously needed.

“Just made me realise I wouldn’t mind that title. Owen Grady: Claire Dearing’s boyfriend.” Owen smirked and Claire giggled again, rising on her toes, just to let her lips touch his.

“I like the sound of that too.” she bit her lip before letting their lips combine like they once were. 


	5. Baby Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years after the Jurassic World incident, Claire decides she wants to be a mother with Owen by her side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I started this like ages ago and then I forgot I still hadn’t finished it. So, here it is. I hope you like it. xx

“Owen, I want a kid.” Claire said abruptly. Owen straightened as suddenly as he was knelt in front of the fireplace. He turned to Claire, a slight raise in his eyebrow.  They had been watching TV when the cold was getting worse, Owen obviously suggested the fire, and Claire added that he should get blankets.

“There’s two coming in a few days.” he suggested with a smirk, and Claire rolled her eyes at him.

“Not Zach and Gray. One, they aren’t kids, and two, that’s not what I mean.” she sighed. Claire had been having a hard time lately,a small badgering feeling in the back of her mind that wouldn’t leave her alone. She and Owen were their own little family, but there were times that Claire did want more for them.  

“So, you want a little Owen in your belly.” Owen sat beside her, tickling her stomach lightly. She giggled before laying a hand across her stomach, rubbing it as Owen’s hand landed on top of it.

“Or a Claire.” she added and Owen nodded.

“Oh, a Claire could definitely be amazing.” he bit his lip before leaning down to Claire, pressing them delicately against hers.

“I think so too.” she muttered against his lips as he kissed her again.

“So, why the sudden urge to be a mother?” he said, a slight groan as he stood from the couch and went to go get another blanket. He began to exit the room when Claire let the words slip out of her mouth.

“Because I’m pregnant.” she announced, shutting her eyes. She looked at Owen who gave a small laugh still looking in the hall closet for blankets.

“You’re funny.” he mentioned, but as Claire remained silent, he changed. He became still and then finally looked at her. “You’re not joking.” he said breathlessly. Claire shook her head. With that movement of the head, Owen dropped what he was doing, raced over to Claire. He scooped her up and started kissing her face repeatedly, every time a new spot then he had kissed before.

“Put me down, you caveman!” Claire giggled, and Owen let her feet touch the ground. He finally kisses her in an act of pure excitement and joy. He was breathing like he had won a marathon, and Claire bit her lip, witnessing his joy.

“When did you find out?” he asked, his words so quick, Claire had to take a moment to get what he was saying.

“About four days ago.” she admitted and Owen stared at her in shock.

“And you’re telling me now?!” he asked in disbelief. He wasn’t angry, just excited by the whole concept. Claire couldn’t be happier. A small tear running down the side of her face. Owen cleared it away quickly.

“I went to the doctors to confirm my suspicions four days ago. I got the results yesterday. I wanted to surprise you over the weekend. I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.” she chuckled, and Owen caught her in a hug, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m gonna be a dad?” she nodded again as she looked up at him, and Owen let her head fall back against him. “This is amazing, Claire. It really is.” he hummed, and Claire let her head cradle into his chest.

 

 


	6. Late Night Mini Golf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owen takes Claire on a second date, which includes mini golf and a small confession from Owen (I.Rex incident basically didn’t happen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so dontgogradymyheart on tumblr saw the golf clubs when she watched it again, and I honestly just had so much love for what she said, I got permission to write the fic. I’m sure she would have done just as good of a job as I did, but I thank her for the opportunity to do it.

Claire stood out in front of his bungalow, the stars sparkling across the water. They gave almost silent waves, small crashes as they listened to Claire and Owen. She always had an odd fascination with the water here on Isla Nublar, how it crashed so silently as if it was trying not to make a sound, almost as if there was something listening in on the whole island.

Claire’s held the club in her hand, leaning against it as it was resting on the ground. Owen was making sure the three or four different holes for his mini golf course were in order. It was their second date, a ‘re-run’ as Owen called it. He wanted to make up for their horrible first date and Claire was over all his pestering, so she agreed. She just didn’t expect mini-golf. It was different.

Owen had apparently had this set up for a long time but Claire had never noticed it before. Most of it was hidden away, just out of sight, but he had the clubs resting against the tree by his bungalow. It was late, the moon looking so large, Claire felt drawn to look at it constantly.

“You’ve had this set up for long?” Claire asked, finally tearing her eyes away from the horizon and to Owen. He stopped for a moment, then placed the golf ball down on the first course. He didn’t look over to her much, but he gave one glance over to her, telling her that he was paying attention. “I mean, you wouldn’t set up a mini golf course around your bungalow unless you had something planned.” Claire remarked again, just as Owen gave his first putt. He almost made it, just a little short of the hole. He turned to her, a small sigh escaping his lips as Claire approached the first course. Owen handed her one of the golf balls he had stuffed away in his pocket. Claire took it and gave a short putt, to which it landed parallel to Owen’s.  

“Well, to be honest, I was going to take you here after our first date. But you left early ‘cause, well, it was going horribly.” Owen admitted, and Claire turned to him in shock. She definitely didn’t expect that to happy.

“You planned this out? To take me here?” she felt like she was stuttering, but she knew she was forming accurate sentences. Owen gave a soft smile before walking slowly to the golf balls. He took his shot, sinking it easily, leaning down to retrieve it from the hole.

“Yeah. I kind of really liked the idea of taking you out here, teach you how to putt.” he nodded, before Claire took her stance, ready to putt the ball. “Watch those hips swing.” he whispered, which made Claire giggle. She sunk the ball, got it the same way Owen did, and they stood face to face now. “But mostly to see you have fun. Which could have been you throwing that club at me, but I wouldn’t have minded.” he chuckled, and Claire pulled on the collar of his shirt, pulling in closer to her.

“Owen Grady,” she muttered, avoiding his eye for a moment, before letting them meet, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “You are honestly the sweetest man alive. And I really really like you.” she smirked, and Owen laughed. His hands landed on the small of her back, her body resting against his beautifully. “This is such a good date, I can actually forget all the bad stuff that happened on our first date.” Claire teased, and Owen smiled. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone for some reason.

“Good.” he whispered back, before flicking through his phone, then he gave a final tap. All the lights that were strung up around the tree and his bungalow that were once their soft yellow glow, now bloomed in an array of colours, changing every so often. Claire stared up at them as they illuminated the entire bungalow and their little golf course.

“Now you’re just showing off.” Claire whispered, her nose nudging against Owen. God, she was ready to kiss him.

“Only for you.” he whispered back before leaning down quickly, capturing her lips. Claire let go of her club and let her arms fall around his neck, a smile growing on her lips, and the same one forming on Owen’s.


	7. Watch The Queens Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Claire and Rexy (the T-rex) bond. (because Owen and the Raptor Squad is cool but imagine Claire in heels riding a T-rex while on the phone to corporate)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s not exactly Clawen but i think it’s pretty good. I got really into this. It’s currently like 3am and I really liked how this turned out?? i think?? i don’t know. Also, there is latin in this (i will have translations at the bottom for everyone - they were from google translate cause i’m english trash) and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because of a certain name I used?? i don’t know. I hope you like it.

When they suggested to Claire that she imprint on a dinosaur, she wasn’t particularly interested, but she agreed to it. It wasn’t until this dinosaur was growing up did she realise how hard and dangerous her job could be.

A T-Rex was hard to train, from when it was young, it always had a temper. Claire was also required to name her, instead of calling her asset 37. She didn’t want to call her something, like, at all. She didn’t want to get attached to this creature that could easily kill her as soon as it got older. But she had to, so she called it Regina. Regina, in many languages, means Queen. And what better name to give a female Tyrant Lizard King, then to call it a Queen.

When Regina was young, she spent nearly every moment with Claire, which made Claire’s job interesting. Most people would have to stay clear as Regina became very protective of her Alpha, which made Claire feel even more superior in some respects. Its purpose of spending all that time together was to build a strong bond. Regina relied on Claire for feedings sometimes, which was dangerous, so there were careful measures in place for that.

It was when Regina was older that Claire had to learn certain procedures as to building a relationship with her. It meant that Claire could give Regina instructions when she was older and still respect Claire’s commands. At Regina’s paddock, Claire had a raised walkway, much like Owen’s raptor paddock, but instead of his open walkway, hers was enclosed. The metal tunnels, as they were called amongst staff. The enclosed walkway probably had more to do with the fact that Regina was this massive creature that could tear everything to pieces, but Claire tried not to think about that.

Claire trained with Regina everyday, and was taught that some of her commands should be spoken in strong latin. It was difficult enough training a two tonne dinosaur, but she also had to learn latin  _and_  speak it fluently for said dinosaur to understand her. Claire was taught a few commands such as ‘ _pugna_ ’, ‘ _rugiet_ ’ and ‘ _loqui_ ’, which all were good in theory, until Claire learnt that  _pugna_  meant fight. She never used it. The others were words that meant Claire had to wear earplugs; they mostly meant to roar or to communicate with Claire. The rest of the stuff, Claire learnt on her own.

Claire sat with Owen at his bungalow, a tough day training their respective dinosaurs and chatting over a glass of wine or two. Claire liked the fact that she could come to Owen when she was feeling like the job was getting too tough, because he always thought she could do it.

“I don’t know why I got roped into this. I’m not exactly qualified for this.” Claire admitted over her second glass of wine was finished. The tension in her shoulders was gone and she simply began talking truthfully to Owen.

“Maybe they just wanted someone to relate to her.” Owen took her glass off of her, knowing that two was always her limit when at his bungalow. They both agreed on the rule, and thought it was better that she got back to her room at the resort on time and not drunk.

“And you relate to your raptors?” Claire smiled at him, standing from her chair and walking behind Owen. They walked into his kitchen, and she watched as he placed the two glasses in his kitchen sink. He turned to Claire.

“Gotta eat, gotta hunt, gotta…” he gave a crude gesture with his hand, which made Claire roll her eyes. “Yeah, I think I relate to them.” Claire gave a soft laugh at his words. Owen stepped forward, a reassuring hand landing on her shoulder. “Claire, listen, you’ve bonded with this animal for years, you’re doing just fine.” he nodded, and she gave a small nod back that she agreed. She collected her bag and slowly walked with Owen to her car.

“And what if something horrible happens and I can’t control her.” she asked, small steps were taken as she looked at Owen.

“It’s not about control, remember.” he gave a warning eye, telling her to correct herself before he did. Claire gave a small smile, knowing full well that he meant.

“Mutual respect.” she repeated his words. He spoke them multiple times to her, making sure she understood the difference between control and respect. She was learning. As always, she was learning.

“You’ve got it.” he smirked, his hand squeezing her shoulder as they reached her car. “And, get back to me on that proposal.” he said quickly before going back to his bungalow.

“Of a date?” she remarked, a small crinkle in her brow. “Grady, you can’t just -” she started but Owen gave a long chuckle.

“Just think about it, Claire.” he said at the top of the steps. He gave a warm smile and Claire smiled back instinctively. “And I really like the nickname. I’ll have to tell you when you can say that in more intimate conversation.” he said, a small bite to his lip as he walked back inside his bungalow. Claire could sweat her mouth hung open for a long time after that.

**_***_ **

Owen was walking with Claire that morning, a few glances shared as they gave flirty comments, but soon there was a commotion starting. It was small but soon it seemed like the whole park was on alert. Claire and Owen rushed to where it was all centred. Paddock nine. Regina’s paddock.

“What’s going on?” Claire asked someone near the gate as they looked inside.

“Staff members in paddock nine! Regina has them cornered.” they spoke quickly, frightened as all hell.

Regina had apparently started stalking towards the people in the paddock, and everything flew from Claire’s mind. She had to help somehow. She ran into the paddock, though, she did feel Owen’s hands try to hold her back. She ran into the middle of the paddock between Regina and the petrified staff members.

“Regina!” Claire yelled, her hands raised, fear pumping in her veins as she stood so insignificantly to Regina. Claire waved for the staff members to run out the gate as she stared down the dinosaur in front of her. Regina’s large eyes dilated, taking in the view of Claire, and Claire swallowed hard. She stood her ground though, her hand still raised, watching and waiting for Regina to do something.

“Claire! Get out of there!” Claire heard Owen yell above her. He was in the metal tunnels. He was trying to see if she made it out of there alright, and the tunnels were the best place to look for anything in the paddock. Her heart was pounding in her chest but she kept eye contact with Regina the whole time. Then, Regina’s thunderous footsteps came towards her. Claire didn’t move. She stayed still, not like it was going to help her. Regina’s eyes were set on Claire.

Regina kept walking to Claire, then finally stopped a safe distance away. And, by safe, it meant that Regina couldn’t eat her without taking another few steps towards Claire. “Trank her!” someone yelled, and Claire clicked her fingers. She shook her head slowly, but kept her eyes locked with Regina’s. Regina took one step forward, her weight leaning against her leg as her head came down to Claire’s side.

It was unexpected, and Claire wondered what Regina was up to. Regina’s nostrils weren’t flaring, but kept a steady rhythm. Her eye, that was now near Claire, was fixated on her, waiting for Claire to walk closer. This could be bad. But it was Regina. She had never hurt Claire before.

“Claire, don’t!” Claire heard Owen yell to her, but she ignored it. She stepped two strides closer, her hand extended to Regina’s skin. Claire gave a tentative touch to Regina’s face, and to Claire’s surprise, Regina fell against the touch, almost nuzzling to her. Claire let her other hand touch Regina, and she gave soft grunts, almost hums, as Claire’s hands rubbed against her scaly flesh.

Claire couldn’t believe it. Regina wasn’t eating her. That in itself deserved an award of some kind. Regina gave soft hums as Claire’s fingers graced over her skin, catching every so often as her fingers ran across the ridges between each scale. It was

“Regina,” Claire said in a whisper, and Regina pushed against Claire again, her hands spreading across Regina’s face, almost holding onto her. “ _Manere_.” Claire asked. It wasn’t a command, merely a question; asking Regina to respect her. Regina gave a loud sigh before pushing against Claire again. It forced her to stumble. “ _Stare Descendit._ ” Claire gave one final question, and Regina gave a final sigh. She lifted her head and began walking away slowly, her footsteps walking in a soft defeat.

Claire let out a shaky breath before backing towards the exit. She never took her back to Regina, always keeping an eye on her. As the gate closed, Claire fell to the floor, her legs finally giving out beneath her. The fear finally taking hold. She had just stood up to a T-Rex and somehow won? If you could call it that. She laughed, but felt like she was on the verge of tears. Owen came running down from the metal tunnels and to Claire’s side, the faint roar of Regina in her paddock.

“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.” Owen scoffed, his hands on either of her shoulder, and Claire thought she might actually get a lecture from Owen until his face grew into a wide smile. “Powerful and sexy? Yes, but really freaking stupid.” Owen gave as his final remark. Claire could only laugh wildly as Owen’s hand cupped her cheek in worry. She didn’t know why she was laughing. Maybe it was the fact that Regina trusted her fiercely, or she had trusted Regina just the same, but she was so overwhelmed, all she could do was laugh. What a strange day she was having.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:   
> Manere - Stay  
> Pugna - Fight  
> Rugiet - Roar  
> Loqui - Speak  
> Stare Descendit - Stand Down


	8. The Virgin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to her works and her didn't like physical contact, Claire is actually a virgin. Owen will fix that.  
> (Smut)

Claire was a grown woman. And for god’s sake, this whole virgin thing was getting ridiculous. She was a workaholic. She loved her work at Jurassic World, managing the entire park had its thrills and she enjoyed it more than having a boyfriend. But there were days when it just got frustrating.

There was one day when Claire was having another jokingly angry discussion with Karen about her virginity. It was getting more heated than the other ones and Claire hadn’t realised that Owen Grady walked in for his own discussion about the raptor paddock. He didn’t make much noise, just stood by the door and waited for Claire to be finished.

When Claire finally turned around her, her face felt like it was on fire, and her embarrassment grew. He joked about it for a moment, even offering his services to remedy her predicament, and Claire rolled her eyes. She disregarded the topic entirely and got back to work. They didn’t talk about it but Owen almost made an offer every time they met. He was joking, but there were days that Claire considered it.

She didn’t understand why it was bothering her all of a sudden, she was fine being a virgin. Sex was rarely on her mind, only coming to her mind when she had boyfriends. It wasn’t that sex didn’t interest her, it did, and she wanted to have sex, but she had never had a boyfriend that was around long enough to have sex, or find the right time to have sex. But now, it was all she could think about.

Owen stood in the middle of the raised platform, just above the raptor paddock. The raptors were being securely placed inside their pens and Owen was standing talking to Barry. Claire swallowed hard before walking along the platform. Owen and Barry looked at her for a moment, and Barry nodded to Owen. Barry walked the opposite way to Claire and Owen reached into his back pocket, pulling out a handkerchief, wiping his hands.  

“Hello Miss Dearing, what can I do for you?” he smirked and Claire took in a deep breath. She put her hands behind her back before stepping closer to him, just so she could whisper her next words.

“Does, uh, does that offer still stand?” she whispered and Owen crooked his head.

“What offer?” he asked, stepping forward to her. Her cheeks flushed, and she avoided his eye.

“You know what offer I mean.” she muttered. Owen’s brow narrowed before his face broke into surprise.

“You’re actually asking me to-” he started and Claire nodded quickly, her lips pressed firmly together. Owen rubbed the back of his neck. “Right. Uh, so what did you have in mind?” he asked and Claire cleared her throat.  _What was she supposed to say?_

“I don’t actually know.” she tapped her fingers against her other hand. She swallowed again, her mouth feeling like sandpaper. Owen cleared his throat multiple times before leaning into whisper to her.

“How about you come to my bungalow tonight. We’ll, uh…go through it?” he suggested and was beginning to regret this decision. She pinched the ridge of her nose and sighed.

“You could have phrased that so much better.” she rolled her eyes and Owen cracked a smile.

“You asked.” he smirked, and looked at Claire for confirmation of his suggestion.

“Seven o’clock, okay?” she nodded and he gave the same response. He extended his hand to her, and she took it, shaking it lightly. She didn’t understand why they did this. but it felt like the right thing to do in the moment.

 

**_*~*~*_ **

 

Claire knocked on the door, her hands fiddling with one another and her chest feeling heavy. Claire wanted to curl into a ball and disappear. She didn’t want to feel embarrassed about asking her co-worker to take her virginity, but there was no way she couldn’t. She asked her fucking co-worker to take her virginity. It’s incredible that he even agreed.

Owen opened the door and looked as nervous as Claire was. He rubbed the back of his neck and offered her to come inside. She strode inside and smiled as she passed Owen. He shut the door behind him.

“Drink?” he offered and Claire turned to him, nodding quickly.

“Many, thank you.” she spoke in a low voice. They drank for a few minutes before they had an uncomfortable silence growing between them. Claire put down her glass of wine and cleared her throat. “So, we should probably get this over with.” she suggested, swallowing hard and Owen looked over to her. She stood up, her hands bound to her side, and as she released the long breath she had been holding in, her hands lost their grip.

“Do you want to…undress you?” Owen asked awkwardly as he kicked off his shoes. Claire took off her shoes, just the same as Owen, and they stood facing each other.

“I don’t know. How does this usually work?” she asked and Owen let out a small chuckle before rubbing the back of his neck once more.

“Well, it’s kind of a mutual tearing at each other’s clothes. Most of the time, girls can’t wait to get me out of my clothes.” he mentioned and Claire smirked to herself.

“Maybe it’s because you don’t have much else to offer.” Owen raised his brows in question of her, and she shrugged innocently.

“That’s incredibly nice of you.” he muttered, and Claire smiled at him.

“Sorry, it’s a reflex.” she bit her lip and then, what seemed to be out of nowhere, Owen’s lips crashed against hers. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Owen’s hands skimmed over her breast, his fingers fiddling with the buttons on her shirt. He undid the rest of them and helped her shrug out of it.

Owen placed a hand on the small of her back, pinning her to his chest. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she tried to do as best as she could. She picked up the bottom of his shirt and tried to lift it over his head. He lifted his arms up quickly, separating his lips from hers for just a moment and then the shirt was gone. He pulled her back in, fixing her against him, one hand finding her back, the other reaching up to cup her breast. He gave a light squeeze, and Claire moaned.

He began walking backwards, tipping a couple of things over as he was finding his way to his bedroom. Claire guessed it was his bedroom. And she was right. Owen opened the door and Claire gave a slight look into it, noticing the large bed against the wall. Owen walked them both to the bed, letting Claire sit down on the edge of the bed.

Claire let herself fall back on the bed, moving herself up so she was lying fully on the bed. Owen adjusted his belt, forcing the buttons open and just leaving the pants open. His bulge growing large. Claire bit her lip slightly, unsure if she should be doing this. Owen crawled up the bed, taking the zipper on her skirt down and running the fabric down her legs. Owen looked at her, noticing her worry, and his hand found her waist. Claire’s breath caught in her throat as Owen’s hand slid down.

“Trust me.” he said and Claire bit her lip, looking down at him. She nodded. Owen pulled on the band, sliding her underwear down her legs. Owen began to kiss from her knees up, his lips were delicate on her skin, but his stubble was rough, scratching her. Owen’s mouth moved further up, when finally finding her sex.

“Oh,” Claire moaned, her hand clutching into the sheet, his lips moving over her folds, and a hand slowly moving up to her chest again.

“Do you like that?” his words vibrating against her.

“Mmm…” she murmured, and her hand slid into Owen’s hair. “Don - don’t…don’t stop doing that.” she muttered, her eyes slowly shutting, as Owen’s smile grew on his face, it slowly pressing against her thighs. His hand gripped around her breast again, then slipping underneath her bra. Owen’s fingers traced over her nipples and Claire arched her back in appreciation.

Owen licked across her entrance, and the sensation made her body shiver, her skin so sensitive. Owen moved his lips up, and his hand cupped around her breast down. His tongue circled around her clit, and she moaned loudly, unable to contain it. She had never felt so much pleasure rush over her body, and it kept building as his tongue roamed over her. His hand moved over her heated skin, then ran softly over her folds. Claire rolled her head into the pillow, the feeling was maddening.

Owen let one finger slide inside her, and she gasped, not expecting it. It felt slightly painful, but the pleasure of it all outweighed it. He didn’t add another finger, knowing where to limit himself for her. She mentally thanked him for that. But soon, his finger circled, and Claire’s hips moved up, an instinct her body was begging her to do. Owen’s tongue circled around her clit, flicking it and Claire’s hips moved slowly against his mouth.

Owen’s finger moved in and out, faster, and his tongue was working vigorously against her sex, Claire didn’t know how long she could hold out. There was a tight coil being built up in the pit of her stomach, and she didn’t know how to describe it, other than wanting it to be released. And then, Owen sucked hard against her clit, and Claire’s back arched more, the coil finally snapping, and her climax was washing over her. Her skin was red hot and she moaned as Owen’s finger helped her ride out her orgam.  

“And that, Claire Dearing, was your first orgasm.” Owen said, a wide smile on his face before his finger got to his lips and he sucked at it. There was something incredibly sexy about it. Owen moved up the bed again, leaning down to kiss her. There was a sweet taste on his lips, and Claire guessed it was her juices he had sucked away. Owen’s body pressed to Claire’s, and she could feel how hard he was, which may have had something to do with making Claire come for the first time. It could have been an incredible turn on.

Owen reached for his nightstand, a condom rested near the base of the desk lamp. He opened the packet and placed the condom over his shaft, and positioned himself over her. He looked at her once more, just to gauge if she still wanted to go through with it all. She did. Claire unclasped her bra, taking it off before she bit her lip and nodded. Owen positioned his tip over her entrance and slowly moved into her. At first it was painful, just having him finally inside her, filling her up the way he did, but it soon went away; there wasn’t any pain, just pleasure.

“Oh, god,” she gasped, and Owen let his hand rest against her cheek, checking on her. He took a small and slow thrust, and she shut her eyes quickly, letting the pleasure take her.

“I’ll take it slow, okay?” Owen guided her, his hand resting delicately on her hip. Claire bit her lip again, and Owen pulled on her hip. There was small echoes of flesh on flesh, but it was brutally slow for Claire. She didn’t understand it, but she knew that Owen was holding back, and she wanted to force him against her. She moaned each time, but it wasn’t getting her near her climax, and she desperately wanted to reach it with Owen inside her.

“Fuck, Claire.” he muttered, almost collapsing on top of her. He wasn’t anywhere near done with his own building orgasm, but he muttered out of frustration, most likely wanting to drive harder, have sex like he normal would and Claire didn’t want to disagree, more so because she wanted to feel him against her the way he wanted it.

“Owen?” she whispered to him, her lips grazing across his skin. She kissed up his neck, and finding his lips, her hands cupping his face. “Can you…” she muttered once, before swallowing hard. Owen looked at her, slightly concerned, as though he doing something to hurt her. “Can you go harder?” she asked, and Owen cracked a surprised smile.

“I can do that.” he assured her. His lips moved down to her neck, sucking lightly on her skin. Owen moved again, almost taking himself out of her, but soon drove himself home, and Claire’s mouth dropped open, pleasure overtaking her, a long moan flowing from her lips. Owen kept a hard and fast pace, but made each thrust last in Claire. She was moaning loudly and let her hands run up around Owen’s neck and to his back. Owen’s mouth ran down her neck and to her chest, catching a breast in his mouth. Claire bit her lip, her fingers digging into Owen’s back as his tongue roamed over her hardened nipple.

“Oh, god. Don’t stop.” she begged him, and Owen didn’t. He kept his pace going, getting harder with every thrust. Claire was moaning wildly, unable to keep it to herself. She felt the same coiling feeling from before building within her, this time, it was more brutal, a stronger and tighter pressure on her body. Owen’s body was moving aggressively over hers, the friction between them was incredible. Claire’s climax was building was rapidly, she couldn’t stop the scream that erupted from her when it finally broke. She wrapped her legs around his hips, felt her legs shaking as she tried to keep him closer to her.

Owen was grunting and moaning as he felt her convulse against him, and her nails were digging into his skin, clutching to him as he thrust into her harder than before. As he gave a long final moan, his orgasm was rushing over him, and Claire kissed up his shoulder, his body almost stilling, with only small strides to help ride out the rest of their orgasms. Owen looked down at Claire, sweat had built across his forehead, and she smiled at him, a small giggle coming to her lips.

Owen rolled off of her, the only sound in the room was the combination of small laughter and panting as they tried to regain their breaths. “So…that’s sex.” Claire panted, looking over to Owen, who was turning back to face her after disposing of the condom.

“Yep.” he smiled blissfully.

“When my body is up for it, I am so doing that again.” Claire chuckled to herself. Owen sat up on his elbow, a smirk on his face and an eyebrow raised.

“Need a partner?” he asked, leaning down slightly.

“Thought you’d never ask.” Claire chuckled as Owen leaned down to kiss her. They stayed up for most of the night, talking to each other about different things. Claire explained that she was always too busy with work to think about sex, but couldn’t get it out of her head since Owen offered. Owen thought he was special because of that. Claire was resting against Owen’s chest as he told stories about his raptors and how he got into the Navy. He talked about his family, and as night was getting darker, they fell asleep in each other’s embrace, unsure of what the next day would hold for them, but Claire was damn glad she lost her virginity to Owen Grady.


	9. The Breaking and Mending Of Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From angst Prompts   
> "I'm in love with you and I'm sick of having to hide it." And "“You left me, you don’t get to come back!"

“I’m in love with you and I’m sick of having to hide it.” Owen let the dishes crash against the bench top. Nothing smashed, but it was enough to startle Claire. She turned to him, the utter look of betrayal written on his face. Claire knew what it was about. 

Claire didn’t want to tell people about their relationship, so they had been keeping it a secret. They often just met at one of their apartments, had dinner. Amongst other things. But this was an argument they had been avoiding for some time. It was about time that it finally boiled over. Claire just wasn’t ready.

“Either we tell people or I’m leaving.” Owen spat out and Claire’s heart dropped in her chest. An ultimatum. Claire had never been good with this stuff. Picking and choosing. Claire wanted to trust her heart, trust everything inside of her, but her brain just screamed logic that she couldn’t deny. She wanted to, so badly, but it was louder than everything else in her head.  

“Owen, you can’t just say stuff like that.” Claire couldn’t find the right words. She knew that Owen was hurting, and she was too, but she hadn’t realised how much this was effecting him. Claire tried to brace herself for what was about to happen. She knew it was coming. 

“I’m so in love with you. I can see us having a future, but I’m a secret to everyone around us.” he started again and Claire could feel the sting at the edge of her eye. She was going to cry. “I don’t want to live feeling like you’re ashamed of me.” his brow scrunched, and Claire couldn’t do it. 

“Owen.” she whimpered out and Owen raised his hand to stop her from continuing. Claire froze, the tears sliding down her face quickly. As though they were never there. 

“Don’t ‘Owen’ me. I want to know, do you love me at all?” he stepped towards her and Claire’s beating heart distracted her. She didn’t know what to say, but she needed to say something. 

“I-I-I…” Claire stuttered and Owen scoffed. He walked off, grabbing his jacket and headed to the door. “Owen, please don’t go.” her panic took over, but her feet didn’t move. She was stuck, unable to stop him.

“I’m done, Claire. I’m just done.” he didn’t even turn to look at her. He just left. 

Claire crumbled to the floor, her heart breaking in her chest and her cries filling her apartment. She left herself feel the pain, curling herself up and crying. She couldn’t bring herself to stand. It felt like hours before she finally crept to her bed, curling herself up and crying to sleep. The pain stayed with her in sleep. It felt incurable without Owen. 

 

*****

 

“You left me, you don’t get to come back!” Claire shouted. She never shouted. Owen had to swallow back his pride, he didn’t go there to fight. He needed to apologise. Claire was curled up on the couch, a blanket around her shoulders and the slight sparkle of water at the edge of her eye.

“Claire, can we talk?” Owen asked, but Claire merely took a pillow and threw it at Owen. He caught onto it. Owen walked over to the couch, sitting next to Claire. She curled up her knees, and turned away from Owen, avoiding him without having to move. “I was angry and stupid and I shouldn’t have gone like that.” he admitted and Claire shook her head. She kicked her legs out and turned back to Owen.

“Owen, you broke my heart.” she mumbled, the tears breaking over her eyes and suddenly realised that Claire was just as heartbroken as Owen was this whole time. “You sprung that on me so fast I couldn’t tell you how much I love you.” she confessed and Owen sat stunned next to her. Owen hadn’t realised what “Owen, you stormed out of here so fast that you didn’t see me break.” she mumbled, the back of her hand wiping her eyes.

“I know I was stupid for doing that.” Owen started but Claire’s brow furrowed deeper, angier at Owen.

“No, Owen, you weren’t stupid. You were cruel and didn’t realise that this relationship works two ways.” she explained, and Owen held onto her hand. She didn’t move away, simply held onto it tighter.

“Claire you were hiding us from everyone we knew, how was I supposed to know?” he asked, and Claire’s grip became painful around his before it loosened again.

“You were supposed to trust me, believe that I loved you because of the way I showed it to you. If you want me to show it to the world, prove that I love you, I’ll do it.” Claire sighed, and pulled onto Owen’s neck. She let her forehead rest against his, and her sigh touching against his face.

“You still want to be with me?” Owen asked, a little stunned.

“Of course I do, you idiot.” Claire scoffed. “Just because you’re an ass doesn’t mean I don’t love you.” she explained, and Owen laughed. He took hold of Claire, bringing her into a tight embrace and a small sob as her head went to his chest.

“I’m so sorry.” Owen whispered into her hair, holding her closer and feeling his chest become somewhat lighter. “God, I’m so freaking sorry.” Owen apologised, kissing the top of Claire’s hair.

“Just don’t leave me.” Claire muttered, then suddenly hitting Owen’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. Owen held onto his stomach as Claire laughed a little. “And don’t doubt that I don’t love you, every part of you.” Claire said, falling back against Owen.


	10. Good For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire has a sexy dress on to go out but it does things for Owen, so much so that he can't let Claire go out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Smut Included*

Owen waited for what seemed like forever, only the faint sound of Claire’s heels indicating that she was even moving around and getting ready. Claire always got dressed in a good amount of time and still looked flawless, but on this particular day, Owen was more nervous than anything. They were going to his high school reunion and he hated high school. Well, not high school, just people there; the assholes that usually picked fights with Owen every other day when he wasn’t in the mood.

“C’mon, Claire, I wanna get there before Peter get there. I want to avoid the bastard as much as possible.” Owen explained, fixing up his hair in the mirror. And out of the corner of the mirror, emerged Claire’s reflection. She wore a strapless bright red dress that clung to her like it needed her to live. Owen’s mouth went dry.

He turned to her, and she was walking over to him, and with every step he could feel his heart beating faster. “Yeah, yeah, I’m ready.” she muttered, getting closer to the door. No, he couldn’t let that happen. He needed her now, and to make sure she knew she was his. He walked to her, taking her wrist and pulling her towards him. She stumbled into his chest and he held onto the back of her head. He let his lips find hers in a quick movement, and she strained underneath him.

“Owen,” she muttered against his lips. “We have to go.” she giggled slightly. His hand slipped down to her ass, cupping it, forcing her to tip forward with a gasp. She smiled devilishly.

“No. We’re not going anywhere.” he said in a low growl, his pants straining against his hardening cock. He couldn’t resist her when she looked like that, and all he wanted to do was tear her out of those clothes. Owen pinned Claire against the front door, his hands immediately taking down the top of her dress. Claire’s hand went to the back of his head. She gave a small mewl and arched her back as his lips moved to her breast. He unhooked her bra, and caught a nipple in between his teeth gently. Claire gave a sharp hiss, but when he looked up, her face was still smiling.

“Owen.” she breathed out. Owen moved his hands to the bottom of her dress, forcing it up to bunch around her waist. She stood against the door and revealed her matching red lace thong. Owen smirked at the sight, and moved his lips back up to her neck.

“You are mine,” he muttered, his lips still on her neck and her breath hitching as his breathed against her. He unbuckled his belt then scooped up Claire up, her legs wrapping around him, and his bulge, still contained by his underwear, rubbing against her wet entrance. “Now and forever.” he moaned. He let himself rub against her for a moment, her moans gut wrenching and being increasingly more hard to deny. Her hips rolled against him, and Owen stifled a moan. Owen eld onto her hips, then hit them against the door, pinning her to it. “Don’t move.” he warned her.

“Owen, if you’re going to do it, you should stop waiting.” Claire’s eyebrow raised, daring him to be the worst he could be. Owen smirked. Owen moved her thong to the side, and took a hard thrust up. He gave a desperate, yet joy filled grunt into her, her mouth hanging open in a wordless smile. She gave a small scoff before letting Owen do as he pleased.

Owen thrust deep into her, his hand planted firmly on the door and the other wrapped around Claire’s back. The door rattled every time Owen thrust into her, Claire’s nails digging into his back for stability. Owen started with slow strides, painfully slow strides, wanting Claire to beg for him. She wouldn’t give it up easily, he knew that, so he would have to break her. He kept it slow, then sped up his pace in a violent act of thrusts, then as he felt Claire’s breathing hitch and her walls clamping a little tighter around him, he slowed down his pace again. Claire whimpered every time until Owen knew he could have her coming over and over again.

Owen started slowly, giving Claire a build up enough that she hitched up on the door a little to get the right amount of friction on her clit. Then he sped up, pulling her right against him and fucking her hard enough that she moaned his name every time he thrust into her. Her walls clamped around him, and he could feel her climax wash over her. Claire gasped loudly in his ear but he wasn’t done. He kept rubbing Claire’s clit against, making sure the friction was driving her just as crazy as him. He pumped into her with everything he had until another orgasm rolled in, spiking higher than before.

There was a sharp, undeniable, pleasurable pain at the base of Owen’s spine that told him his own orgasm was about to rock through. Owen knew he couldn’t climax inside her, he needed to stop. Claire and Owen had always been very  _particular_  about their sex life, which, in case of rushed and unplanned sex,  Owen wasn’t allowed to come unless Claire gave him a blow job. This wasn’t a moment where Owen thought a blow job would give him the release he wanted. He wanted to feel Claire’s walls clamp around him, be on top of her and know that coming he would claim her as his own.

Owen knew that Claire came twice, making it harder for Owen to resist the temptation to stay. Owen pulled away, falling back and sitting on the floor. He could maybe masturbate just that little bit more, because he suspected Claire to be a little fragile. Owen just needed to get his release. Claire was still leaning against the door but as she looked at him, she lifted the top section of her dress, covering her breasts, but continued to walk to him. She stood over Owen, but soon got on her knees, moved her thong to the side once more, and sank down on top of Owen, taking him in. He groaned as he sank down, and Owen’s head fell back onto the floor.

“We’re not done.” she whispered, grinding her hips against him. Owen’s hands gripped into her hips, a tight hold but never stopping her.

“Claire, we can’t.” he gave a strangled response. Claire rose again, then sank back down, taking her time with slow strides.

“No, we can. Now it’s your turn to shut up unless you’re moaning my name.” she let her fingers grace over his lips then they soon scratched down his neck harshly. Owen hissed again, his cock feeling incredible inside of her and the electricity from her nails sparking across his skin was too unforgiving.

Claire gasped as she gave another stride on Owen’s shaft before she pinned Owen’s shoulders to the floor. Her eyes warned him not to move. He didn’t plan on it. He stayed still, letting Claire ride on top of him, her hips rolling down his shaft and painfully torturing him.

“Claire.” Owen moaned, his fingers dragging down her hips to her thighs. They were soft and full underneath his rough hands.

“Just how I like it baby. Say it again.” she panted, her hands digging painfully into his chest. Owen hissed loudly, his hands running up her milky white thighs.

“Fucking christ, Claire.” he let his head hit the floor, and knew that Claire wouldn’t let up until she came again and made Owen come. She wouldn’t care about whatever they had agreed; the spark in her eyes was dangerous and didn’t care until he came inside her.

Claire started a fast pace, leaning down against him, and as her gasps, whimpers and moan became shorter and high in pitch, Owen took a hard thrust into her. Her walls clamped down onto him, and as her climax was rocking over her, Owen needed one more desperate pull of her walls to get him off. The painful pleasure at the base of his spine was brutal and his release was close, he knew it. Owen gave a few small thrusts before his hand slid between them, his fingers over her clit. Claire gasped.

Whenever Claire was in charge, Owen had to stay still unless Claire told him to do something, like pull on her hair or play with her nipples. He was never allowed to touch her clit. She said it was too sensitive and she’d have less control over herself if she let him touch her there. But now was different, there wasn’t anything to stop Owen this time, he wanted to feel her come hard and he wanted to do it right along with her.

He gave a small rub over her clit, desperate whimpers came from Claire before Owen started to circle it. Claire panted over Owen’s shoulder, still riding his cock every so often, arching against him as he played with her. He wanted to taste her, have his tongue run over her fold, adding fingers to make her whimper his name even more. But he started to rub over her clit faster, her moans more desperate and then the painful pleasure that took Owen’s spine hostage cracked as Claire’s walls held him tightly. Claire moaned loudly and Owen let himself empty into Claire.

Owen’s orgasm left him gasping for air, Claire’s knees squeezing at his side and her walls clamping tightly, small spasms echoing their climaxes. Claire’s hand went to Owen’s throat, tipping up his chin, leaning down to his lips.

“You’ve been holding out on me.” she whispered against them before kissing him a lazily and exhausted kiss. She dropped off his lap onto the floor next to him. He gave a chuckle before responding.

“Maybe you didn’t deserve it.” he smirked. Claire smacked his chest. He grunted but still laughed. Owen looked over to Claire, her hair in a mess and a pink line of heat rushing across her cheeks. Owen smiled at his gorgeous girlfriend. He was too lucky.

“I always deserve it. But I want to know why it’s different now.” Claire sat up leaning down against his chest. Her chin dug into his chest, but he didn’t mind. He looked down at her before he shrugged.

“We’ve had rules.” he gave a soft smile. Claire giggled before leaning up to his lips, a hand sliding to the side of his face. Her touch was also so delicate and when her lips touched his, it was so easy to forget his own name.

“No more, okay?” she said against his lips before giving another laugh and collapsing again next to him.

“We going to be late now.” Owen said, not even needing to see the time. Claire huffed before getting up and extending her hand to Owen. He took hold of it and she helped him up. He placed himself back into his pants before Claire took hold of his waistband and pulled him close to her.

“I’m happy to miss it if you are.” she whispered with a smirk on her lips. Owen gave a soft sigh, hoping she would say something like that. He was too damn lucky.

“Give me ten minutes, then we’ll see if we can waste the rest of the night.” he suggested, a small shrug on his shoulders. Claire took the edge of her thong down, slipping it down her long legs and stepped out of them. She twirled the band on her finger before she bit her lip.

“Well, I’m sure you can have a different  _treat_  while you wait.” Claire’s brow raised, questioning him. She handed him the thong, slipped out of her dress and walked back towards the bedroom. Owen was up for eating out, especially if he got to eat out Claire.

Owen took off his suit jacket and raced towards the bedroom, almost falling on the floor in the process.


	11. Watch Us Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of Zach and Gray, it’s Owen and Claire that are forced to jump off the cliff into the water.

Claire stood on the edge of the waterfall, Owen fixed to her side and Owen mentioning that they may have jumped off the side to save themselves or maybe they just got away. The way was rushing rapidly over the fall, the sound painful for her to hear. Claire’s anxiety for the boys was growing and she didn’t know what else to do.

“Owen, where the hell could they have gone?” Claire asked, looking around after Owen had stopped them. Owen looked around, his eyes on the floor as he kept the gun strapped around his shoulder.

“I think they went over the…” he started, before a large footstep came booming behind them. They both turned slowly to see the Indominus Rex coming out from behind trees, a wicked smile gracing it’s large and terrifying face. “Go.” Owen said quickly, pushing Claire towards the edge of the fall.

“What?” Claire exclaimed before Owen grabbed hold of her hand, not letting her out of his grip. The dinosaur was gaining on them, and Owen was preparing them for the fall down.

“Jump!” he urged her, and Claire didn’t know if she could do it. Owen jumped first and dragged Claire along with him. Her other hand found his arm and clenched onto it tightly, not letting it go the entire fall down.

“Owen!” she yelled out just before they hit the water. They were separated when the water crashed around them, and Claire was about to kick up when Owen kept her down for just a moment. She opened her eyes cautiously, looking at him and his wild expression. He urged her to stay under just for a short time, wait for it to be safe.

The heavy footsteps started racing away until they could no longer hear them. Claire immediately kicked up to the surface, gasping for air, coughing as she got the water out of her water corrupted lungs. Owen emerged a second later, coughing as wildly as she was, but his first concern was her. He swam to her, his hand reaching up to her face.

But there was a moment, Claire’s eyes drawn to Owen’s chest. The water was cascading over his open shirt. The shirt itself stuck tight to him, defining every single muscle on his chest. Claire was staring, she knew that, and she wanted to reach out to him.

“You okay, Claire?” Owen spoke, snapping Claire’s eyes and attention back to his face. That didn’t much help, because the water thar dripped from his hair was running down every defined feature on his face. Claire swallowed hard as Owen stepped forward, concerned.

“Yeah, sorry.” she muttered, trying to clear her throat. Owen’s hand touched her shoulder, and there was something inside of her that told her to forget reason, and go with feeling. And she did. She reached up quickly, tugging on the collar of his shirt and forced his lips to crash down onto hers. Owen made a surprised sound against her lips, his hand resting on her waist and a slight pull of his fingers as Claire moan lightly underneath him. As quickly as the kisses started, they pulled apart and extended heated breaths. “Well, that was the weirdest time I’ve ever kissed someone.” Claire tried to laugh it off as she moved away from him and headed towards shore. They finally got to the bank, where Owen helped Claire out.

“I’ll have to repay the favour.” he said as Claire fell against him, her heels slipping slightly against the mud’s surface. Claire swallowed hard as Owen’s smirk deepened and stepped away from him, the sudden flush on her face was embarrassing.

“Okay, so you can track the boys right? Pick up their scent or something.” Claire asked, and Owen’s brow furrowed deeply. He looked at her in one moment, with pure affection and the next he looked like he was questioning everything in his life that lead up to said moment. Claire kind of liked to see the ridiculous look on his face.


	12. Barely Remembered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire is forced by her sister to ask Owen to be her fake boyfriend, only problem is, Claire and Owen drunkly kissed and Only Claire remembers. So, let’s just say, hiding her feelings for Owen is a little difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got more one shot collections to come, just finishing this one at the moment. Hope you've enjoyed all of these.   
> Okay, so it’s based off [this post](http://captainandbucky.tumblr.com/post/124748406453/which-one-should-i-write-from-this-post-we) where i combined the two ideas and I actually die okay. I hope you enjoy this (p.s. she wears [this dress](http://picture-cdn.wheretoget.it/okdnbh-i.jpg) at the party cause I couldn’t resist it)

Claire had known Owen all her life, but this conversation was going to be the toughest. She was going to ask Owen to be her boyfriend.

 

**_*~*~*_ **

 

_Claire’s mother had been talking about a family get together over the weekend, which always brought up the conversation that Claire hated having. Why don’t you have a boyfriend. Claire rolled her eyes when her mother brought it up and she was having a particularly long discussion about it. Claire didn’t want to join in, but it was getting to the point that Claire was ready to erupt._

_“Claire, you have to get a boyfriend, so you can have a life and a family and -” her mother was saying, and Claire gave a huff, interrupting her quickly._

_“I have a boyfriend, mother!” Claire raised her voice and they both looked at each other, stunned._

_“Who?” she asked with a look in her eye like she didn’t believe Claire. Claire swallowed hard before Karen put her hand on Claire’s shoulder._

_“Owen Grady.” and Claire looked up at Karen with shock. Owen Grady had been a family friend for years, their house across the street from Claire’s. And unfortunately, Claire had the misfortune of having the biggest crush on Owen since middle school. He left for the Navy when they were eighteen and Claire thought her feelings for him would have gone away over time. She moved away for work but over the last few years Claire would visit her mother. That’s when she found out that Owen was back. And her feelings hadn’t gone away. He was more gorgeous than ever and they ended up spending so much time together, like they used to. It was painful sometimes._

_“I didn’t know you were dating Owen.” Claire’s mother exclaimed and Claire tried to speak, but she just kept choking up, unable to speak._

_“It’s recent, she didn’t want to say anything.” Karen said quickly. Claire turned to Karen, her eyes narrowed to her sister. Karen smiled sweetly, not even looking at Claire._

_“Tomorrow night, the family barbeque. Bring him along.” their mother beamed and walked to the kitchen in the most upbeat mood._

_“Karen, why would you do that?” Claire angrily whispered to Karen, hitting her arm. Karen chuckled lightly._

_“I know you’re liked him and I’m sure he’s happy to come along.” she explained and Claire put her head in her hands._

_“I can’t.” she muttered through her palms._

_“Why?” Karen put a hand on Claire’s back, a sudden tone of concern following her words._

_“‘Cause last week at a party, I was a little tipsy and he was drunk and he asked if I wanted to make out. I said sure. But he doesn’t remember and I haven’t spoken to him ‘cause I don’t know how to act around him.” Claire explained in a rush of words, Karen’s face suddenly turning to awareness and realisation._

_“Oh, that’s why I haven’t seen him around you.” she said slowly and Claire hit her sister’s leg repeatedly._

_“Yeah, that’s why.” she muttered through her hits. “I fucking hate you right now.” Claire pouted before Karen got Claire to her feet. She didn’t understand why until Karen was shoving Claire out the door._

_“Well go on. He should still be at his parents I saw him go in earlier.” Karen smiled and Claire rolled her eyes, letting her head fall back._

_“I so fucking hate you right now.” she groaned and started to walk across the street._

 

_***~*~*** _

 

So there she was, waiting her his front door. Ready to ask the guy she had a crush on for most of her life out on fake date. Terrific. She knocked on the door and waited for Owen’s parents to open the door. Instead, Owen opened it up, a bright smile on his face.

“Hey you.” he beamed, immediately coming down and taking her into a hug. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in like a week.” he mentioned and Claire cleared her throat, avoiding his face. She was getting into the habit of watching his lips, tempting herself. She needed to stop that.

“I have a massive favour to ask you.” she started and Owen shrugged, a sign he was up for it. “I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend at my family barbeque tomorrow.” Claire forced a smile, her brow furrowed as she waited for Owen to answer. He seemed shocked by the request, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Well, uh, yeah, if you need me there.” he strung a sentence along and Claire gave a soft sigh of relief. She almost cheered.

“Oh, god, thank you so much.” she bit onto her bottom lip before pulling on his shoulders and kissing his cheek. “I’ll text you when to come and uh, what my family is like and if you need to watch any relatives and uh -” Claire started to walk back to her house, turning back when she was coming up with new ideas.

“Claire?” he stopped her, and she turned to see him leaning against his doorframe. “It’s going to be okay. I know everything about you. We’ll be able to pass this off.” he explained and Claire gave a laugh, nodding. She went back to her house, turning at her door to see Owen still staring at her. Just like they used to do. They waved in sync before closing their door in unison.

 

**_*~*~*_ **

 

Claire tied the halter of her dress around the back of her neck before looking at herself in the mirror once more. She fixed up her hair from around her ears and pursed her lips together. From her room, she could see Owen walking out of his front door. He was wearing some dark jeans, a white shirt and his infamous brown leather jacket. He waved up at her and she smiled. Claire started down the stairs, passing her sister and her two nephews to get to the door. She opened it wide and Owen was just coming up the steps. She wanted to jump into a hug like she sometimes did with Owen but after the other week, she didn’t know what was right anymore.

Owen finished just in front of her and gave a sigh, opening his arms up to her. Claire chuckled before going into his embrace. She held onto him tightly before letting herself regain composure.

“You look beautiful, Claire.” he mentioned and Claire could feel her cheeks burning. She avoided his eye before tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Uh, well, come on, meet the family.” Claire mentioned, clearing her throat. Owen moved out his elbow for Claire to hook her arm around it. She giggled before doing so. He was making her so flustered because of that stupid kiss. She couldn’t even get it out of her head.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and night, Claire was with Owen and had different family members come up to them asking about their relationship. They just told their story of friendship and said that recently Owen had asked Claire out, and there they were. It wasn’t hard to believe as most of her family always thought they were going to get together sooner or later. It was slightly embarrassing. No, scratch that. It was really embarrassing.

Owen had someone gotten dragged along to talk to Zach and Gray. The boys had secretly wanted to meet Owen after Claire had mentioned to Karen that she had a crush on a guy in the Navy. They both knew that the relationship wasn’t real but desperately wanted to talk to him about his life in the Navy and how cool it was. Most of the family had left, leaving Claire sitting out in the backyard on one of the steps that lead into the large backyard the family had acquired. She swirled around the scotch in her glass, the smell reminding her a lot of Owen, especially when he was gone. His first drink was a scotch, one they both took when their parents weren’t looking. It was strong and Claire hadn’t the taste at first, but she remembered that Owen loved it. She took small sips at the alcohol in the glass.

Footsteps started to move towards her, and Claire turned to see who it was. Owen. He smiled as she turned and sat down next to her on the stairs. He leaned against her lightly, clinking his own glass of almost empty scotch against hers. “I’m glad you asked me here.” he said as he finished off his scotch, making a pained face as he swallowed the harsh liquor. He set his glass down beside him. “I mean, I haven’t seen you since that party the other week.” he mentioned, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, but you don’t remember much from that.” Claire chuckled, taking another sip of the scotch. Not much else in the glass, but if she was to continue this conversation, she needed a lot more.

“I remember doing a body shot off of Zara.” he smiled and Claire rubbed a hand over her brow.

“She was giving those out.” Claire smirked and they laughed together.

“And I think I hooked up with someone.” Owen said abruptly, forcing Claire to choke on her scotch. She put down her glass and began to cough. It burned at the back of her throat and she cleared her throat before finally being able to answer him.

“Yeah?” Claire said, turning her face away from Owen as she silently prayed he didn’t suspect her. What would she do when he told her it was her and she had been lying this whole time. She didn’t want to admit her feelings, but it was about time that she let him know. Only if he remembered.

“Yeah, she had killer eyes, beautiful but killer.” he started, trying to paint a picture of her, and Claire shut her eyes tightly. Maybe he kissed someone else at the party, she really wished it was someone else. Maybe he would be awkward about it if he knew. God, this was so confusing. “And really soft hands against my face.” Claire remembered when she did that. She held his face in her hands, her finger running over the stubble on his jaw. “And short red hair that I always loved on her.” Claire froze before straightening. Claire blinked a few times before turning to Owen. His lips crashed against hers, and she made a startled noise against him. But she fell straight into it. She let her hand go to the side of his face. Her fingers ran over his stubble, scratching at the harsh hairs on his face. Then he pulled away, his eyes opening slowly to meet hers. Claire let her mouth fall open with a sigh.

“You remembered.” she muttered before she put her hand to her forehead.

“A couple of days after the party. And you knew, this whole time.” Owen said looking over to her. His eyes were curious, looking at her with the sensation of wanting answers. Claire was going to let everything, and she knew it the minute and sat up straighter.

“Owen, I’ve liked you since middle school when you got taller than me and your voice was breaking. It was cute and endearing and I liked you. And when we were in high school, you joined the football team and you got fitter and, god, okay, you got really hot.” she started to ramble, a small laugh coming from the both of them as she admitted he was attractive. But she knew she wasn’t done. “And I was in love with you. You and I dated other people and I was happy being friends because at least I had you in life but I hated seeing those girls with you because I was in love with you.” she gave a heavy sigh, Owen’s eyes watching her face, and it made Claire scared; she was scared that he would say something to ruin this. “I should have told you before you went off to the Navy but I didn’t know how to. I thought these feelings would go away. And then you came back…and they hadn’t changed. And somehow gotten stronger.” she admitted and then Owen’s mouth opened.

“Claire I -” he started, but Claire panicked, rubbing her face and the back of her neck.

“You should go home. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’ll tell my mom we had a fight and you and I broke up. She’ll get it.” she said, avoiding his gaze. He patted his knee.

“Right, okay.” he muttered before standing, but his feet didn’t move. “Did you ever once think about my feelings?” he said and Claire looked up at him. He sat back down next to her. “I mean, what I felt for you?” he shrugged asking her. “Because I loved you since the moment we met. You were this fiery redhead and you didn’t let me boss you around too much. And you and I were always so close, it got harder every day to ask you out and make sure I wasn’t making my feelings to obvious.” Claire’s heart was racing, and there was no way she was still breathing. She listened to him but god everything in her made her want to stop him talking and have him. “When you dated other guys, did you ever noticed that I didn’t like a single one? Because I was jealous of the way they got to touch you, got to kiss you. And it made me mad. I went to the navy to focus myself, to make sure I didn’t ruin our friendship. When I came back, I didn’t expect to see you, and that you had gotten even more beautiful than before.” he gave a wonder-filled sigh then cleared his throat, standing once more. “I was glad you asked me to this, because at least I got to pretend for one night.” he started to walk up the steps and Claire panicked again.

“Owen,” she shouted, standing and walking to him on the patio. “How about we don’t pretend?” she smiled at him and he gave a sigh, a wide smile beaming across his face.

“Oh thank god you said it. I was going to keep making a speech about how I -” Claire rolled her eyes before pulling on his jacket so he kissed her. Owen smiled against her lips, almost thanking her for stopping him from talking. “This…this is the kiss I’m going to remember.” he muttered against her lips before he wrapped his arms around her waist and her arms slid to rest over his shoulders and around his neck. Claire kicked up one of her feet, happy to finally feel like the giddy girl who fell in love with Owen all those years ago.


	13. Sheriff And A Bandit pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She is known as The Red Woman. But she’s a myth. A legendary bandit that robs towns and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. But she stumbled into Sheriff Grady’s town. That’s where she went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per request, added Sheriff And A Bandit to my AO3

The dust was picking up as it had been for the last few weeks. Something bad was coming. Out in the west, the earth always spoke to people. A fierce wind meant bad news was going to come riding in. Owen didn’t like that wind. He stood in the doorframe of the sheriff’s station, a bad cup of coffee just brewed in his mug. He wasn’t particularly good at making coffee and seeing as how he was the only person in the station, he had to put up with the horrible taste. 

He sighed, the sun just coming into view and the town was slowly waking up. Owen went back inside, his boots clicking on the floorboards. The metal spur on his boot was well worn and ran along the floorboards as it had always done. Owen went to the board full of wanted posters. Most had been solved at that point, but Owen kept them up anyway. There was one poster that always had people talking. The Red Woman. There were rumours of her, but there had been no sign of her nor her men in their parts. Owen liked it that way, it meant his town was safe and his job as sheriff was a whole lot easier. 

Owen sat in the station for most of the day, his hat hanging low as he had a nap from time to time. There wasn’t much else to do in their quiet town of Quill, so when unfamiliar people rode in that afternoon, Owen knew that a wind had blown in. He stood up just as he heard gun shot being fired. It spooked enough people to have them running from different shops. Owen saw two men on horses as they strapped bags to the sides of the saddle. Three other men ran out of the bank, where the commotion started, only one of the three walking. 

They walked towards their horses and Owen cocked his gun, firing it into the air. “You best be getting out my town and leave that there money!” he warned the men. They turned to him and started to get on their horses, rushing and leaving behind some of the bags. The one member of their team that was walking managed to get on their horse quickly, but they were at the back of the pack. It gave Owen the perfect opportunity to act.

Owen shot near the horse’s leg, spooking it enough to throw the man from the back. The horse began galloping around the town. Most of the town had gathered on porches, watching the spectacle unfold. The rest of the men rode off, making a big fuss over this one man who got throw off. He dusted himself off, making hard grunting noises as he stood, the bandana around his mouth still covered most of his face. He tried to run, but Owen was ready.

Owen cocked the barrel, the man stopped, his hands slowly raising above his head. “I got hands faster than the bullets I shoot.” Owen warned him. The man turned around slowly, a visual pick up in his breath as his chest was rising and falling. “Do you really want to try to run away?” he asked. The man slowly moved his hand down to his face, gripping the top of the bandana. He pulled it down and everyone watching gasped. 

“I would have hoped you would take your time.” the woman standing in front of Owen was no man. She was disguised as a man, her shirt too large to hide any physical resemblance of a woman and her hair was short but most of it still hidden by her hat and the bandana she wore. “They are mighty fine hands you got there.” she smirked. Owen put his gun to his side, uncoiling it as it rested.

“The Red Woman.” he realised. He knew why she was called The Red Woman now. Her hair. It was a crimson red that took most of the attention to her. She put her hands down as she rolled her eyes. She rested her weight onto one hip, and now her feminine qualities. 

“I do prefer my name, but that is what they call me.” she snapped back as Owen walked towards her. He reached to his holster, taking the handcuffs from his hip and was now standing directly in front of her. 

“Hands.” he ordered and she extended her arms to Owen. He took hold of her wrists, pulling her into his hold, clasping the chains around the delicate grounds of her hands. 

“How did you know I like it rough?” she whispered to him in a smirk. There was a moment where Owen smiled back. But he let it drop, his hat coming down low.

“You’re gonna hang for your crimes.” he cleared his throat before pushing her in front of him and his hand lying in between her shoulders, guiding her to the sheriff’s station.

“Was always bound for the gallows.” she muttered. She didn’t seem to be laughing now. 

 

*~*~*

 

There hadn’t been any sign of the men that ran off with some of the money from the bank. They managed to get the money back to the bank and The Red Woman was safely put away inside the sheriff’s station. It had been some hours with her alone in the cell and Owen wasn’t exactly sure what to say to this woman. But there were some things playing on his mind.

“Why did you become a bandit?” he asked, taking her attention. She sat on the bed with her legs crossed and her hands resting delicately on her knees. She didn’t exactly seem like she was a bandit at heart.  “You seem too proper to be roughing it in this crowd.” he shrugged and the woman shifted. She stood and walked over to the bars of the cell. 

“I came from a wealthy family. Raised in one. That was, until daddy gambled away all our money.” she cursed the words that came out of her mouth before she rested herself completely on the bars. “My sister married a man she didn’t love just so we could get some money back.” she gave a soft chuckle as Owen sauntered over to her. “As for me, well Mama always said, Us girls always gotta take care of ourselves.” She lifted her hands to the collar of her shirt, revealing embedded teeth marks that had been worn into her skin over time. “Whoring was what I was good at. Until robbing them bastard blind was.” she smiled, but there was a sadness in her eyes that made it all seem so depressing. 

“You were a whore and a bandit so you could help your family.” Owen elaborated from what she had said. She nodded before letting her collar go and sighed, taking hold of the bars once more. 

“My sister and my two nephews. Them the only good family I got left.” she explained but there was something that wasn’t adding up.

“No parents now?” he asked plainly. 

“Mama died of yellow fever. Daddy shot himself in the head.” she gave no remorse in her words and then sat back down on her bed. 

“You still doing that whoring?” Owen felt the words escape his lips. She looked up to him in surprise.

“You asking for a show, Sheriff?” she laughed. She tucked her legs up onto the bed before biting the edge of her lip. “When I need to; but the guns sure did help. Kept my clothes on longer.” she remarked. Owen sighed and his hands gripped onto the line of his pants. 

“Get rest.” he told her before heading upstairs to his room. He locked everything down and made sure he could get downstairs in a rush if needed. The station itself made sure the Sheriff lived upstairs and could get access to the cells if an incident were to occur. Owen had yet to use it for an emergency. 

 

*~*~*

 

Owen woke up the next morning, his bones feeling stiff and they took too long to move. He rubbed the back of his neck before he scuffled down the stairs. He jumped into his pants, tucking his shirt into his pants and adjusting his vest over the top of his basic ensemble. Before going into the station, he placed on his holster, sneaking his feet into his boots. 

He opened the door silently, the woman sleeping in the cell peacefully, but Owen thought he could be very cold down there sometimes. He started to prepare a simply breakfast for the woman. Her oatmeal was easy enough as he cooked up some sausages and eggs for himself. He wasn’t much of a cook, so this breakfast would do him. 

He heard the strangled noise of someone waking up and turned to see the woman trying to stretch with her handcuffs still on. Owen smiled and noticed that she had tied her short tighter, and she had kicked off her boots. Owen made sure he didn’t stare because he was frankly very taken by her. He took the oatmeal to her as she stood from her bed. She went to the cell bars, the small horizontal space between the metal rods was the easiest way to pass things through. He gave over a bowl full and a spoon.

“I haven’t had a meal in days.” she muttered in happiness. She immediately started digging into it, setting herself on the bed and tucking up her feet. Owen crossed his arms in front of his chest. 

“Thought you and your men would be rolling in that money.” he remarked but the woman gave a small laugh.

“They got families to feed. I get my part of the money and send it off to my sister. I don’t get much.” she told him. “Maybe a meal for once a week. If things are real bad.” She must have been starving at that stage because most of the oatmeal was gone. And that’s saying something. Owen’s oatmeal was horrible. 

“And those other men that ran off when you got thrown from your horse? Where they going?” he asked quickly after. 

“Probably trying to round up some other men, take me out of this hellhole.” she said, finishing her meal. As Owen stood silent, she wiped the corner of her mouth. “No offense.” she muttered. “But I’m tired.” she exhaustedly said. She let her back rest against the wall, her eyes slowly shutting. 

“Huh?” Owen exclaimed. 

The woman gave a heavy sigh. “I’m tired of whoring. I’m tired of robbing. I’m tired of running.” she explained, her hands starting to pull at the chains. “I just want to stand still for once. Get back to living a life where I might have a family of my own.” she just seemed so exhausted, that this life she had been leading was draining her of who she was. Who she could be. 

“Tell you what,” Owen started, the woman’s eyes flashing open and looking at Owen. “I’ll work something out with the judge. You can have a job here at the station to work off your penance. No rope. Just doing some good honest work.” he offered and she jumped up from the bed, walking over to the bars. She held onto them tightly in anticipation. 

“You reckon you can swing that?” she bit her lip light in her waiting excitement. 

“I’m the sheriff after all.” he gave a cocky smirk, his hand resting on his belt. She gave out a little squeak. “But now, don’t get too excited. You’ll be under my eye constantly, so no funny business.” he warned her. 

“Promise.” she smiled, but Owen just raised his brow. “My promises are always honest, Sheriff.” she nodded. Something about her made him believe her words. 

“And if we’re going to working together, you may as well call me by my name.” he stated. “I’m Owen Grady.” he tipped the edge of his hat and she gave out a small laugh.

“Nice to meet you Owen. I’m Claire. Claire Dearing.” she greeted sweetly, her cheeks blushing. 


	14. Sheriff And A Bandit pt 2

Claire was allowed to do as the judge said, which meant that she had to stay with Owen constantly. It was different for the sleeping arrangements of course. Owen had his room upstairs on the right, Claire had hers on the left. It was meant for a deputy but the deputy in the town had his own home, so it was largely agreed that Owen was the only one who really needed to live above the station. 

So that’s where Claire was staying, just across from Owen. It was cold most of the time, no heat and no fireplace to keep her warm. She cuddled up closely on her bed, always wearing the men’s clothing she used when robbing banks and such. It kept her legs from freezing and curled up her legs to make sure she retained as much heat as possible. Sleeping took much longer when it was cold like that. She used to have her hair to keep her warm, but Mister Boss, the man Claire actually worked for, made her cut her hair for some easy cash. It broke her heart, but there a part of Claire that was excited to finally be still 

Owen managed to get Claire’s horse and get some of her belongings that were strapped the saddle. Claire had to alternate between the one dress she had and the clothes she had taken from one of her men. It wasn’t the easiest arrangement, especially considering the corset she had to tie was old and tired. It barely cinched at the back anymore. She needed new clothes and seemed to complain as the end of two weeks passed.

Claire woke one morning, her dress nowhere to be seen and she groaned. Owen sometimes took Claire’s clothes to wash them, but it left Claire wearing the same clothes as the day before and making them even dirtier. She got into the slacks and shirt ensemble, the suspenders hanging down around her hips and thighs. She was getting to the door, putting on her boots when she saw a nice, pristine box sitting in front of her door. Claire stopped and picked up the poor lonely thing. 

It had no note on it, only a purple ribbon wrapping around the box. Claire looked around, before she entered back into her room. She placed the box on the bed, unraveling the ribbon and opening the box. Inside was a new corset and several items of clothing. One was a nice dress and some skirts that she could wear when at the station. Claire nearly jumped. It had been so long since she had gotten gifts, especially gifts that seemed to be paid for. Claire immediately stripped out of her clothes and emptied the box. It seemed to have everything she needed and everything was new and clean. She couldn’t believe it. 

Claire let herself stand in front of the mirror, touching the fabric of the skirt and blouse. The corset was nice, didn’t tug at her but it was a tighter fit than her last corset; she wore that in over many years of use. She managed to get the corset on, her bust suffering far more than she thought it would with a new corset. She fixed the strings at the back and tucked her hair behind her ear. 

“Oi! You coming down today or what?” Owen barked from down in the station. Owen made breakfast every morning. He wasn’t a very good cook and one of these mornings she would have to break it to him. Claire put her boots on and hurried out of her room. She was making her way down the stairs when she heard a small chuckle. It wasn’t one of humour, more of surprise. Claire looked up and saw Owen staring at her, a large smile breaking onto his lips. “Well, look at this lovely woman.” he said, biting the edge of her lip. Claire shrugged and made it to the bottom step. 

“Oh, stop,” she joked, tucking her hands behind her back and twirling in her skirt. “This outfit is amazing. I haven’t had a dress like this in years. And one that fits me right.” she chuckled as she stopped. The skirt was a dark brown and long, a tough material but was good for the environment out west. Her blouse was almost grey but made sure it was thin enough to keep her cool. 

They sat down eating breakfast, the bad food staining Claire’s tongue. She thought she wouldn’t taste anything ever again. That’s when someone rushed into the station. “Oh thank christ.” Claire muttered, dropping the fork and standing from her chair. Owen’s brow knitted before he stood up from his chair and grabbed his hat. 

“What’s happening?” he asked, his thumbs tucking into the line of his pants as everyone walked quickly out of the station. Claire had to follow Owen everywhere, so she had no choice in the matter of where they were going. Owen often told her to stay behind, but she reminded him otherwise. He groaned and let her tag along. 

“The bar. Lowery had a big night and early rising morning.” The man remarked, guiding the way to it.

“Didn’t someone cut him off?” Claire gave behind the two men walking in front of her. 

“No one asked your opinion.” The man barked back at Claire. She swallowed her shame. It had been the same for the last few weeks. She was spat at, things tossed at her and it was hard for her to go anywhere without Owen. He would eye them off and she didn’t get hurt that much. Things still occurred but staying by Owen’s side helped her. 

“Lowery gets drunk all the time.” Owen told her before he turned back to the man and warned him to stay quiet with an angry eye. 

“Never this rowdy.” The man nodded at Owen, a silent agreement not to harass Claire. Owen pushed the salon’s doors open and Claire stayed near the entrance. She kept her back to the wall, feeling the eyes of the men and women judging her. 

Lowery was standing at the bar, his hand hitting down another shot of whatever she was drinking. He cheered loudly, falling all over the place and laughing loudly. He didn’t seem phased by seeing Owen, merely excited. He hugged tightly onto Owen, who stiffed and moved away from the drunken man.

“Lowery, come on, I’ll have to take you down to the station.” Owen warned him. 

“Screw that, Sheriff. Not with a bandit there.” Lowery shouted and Claire let her shoulders hunch over. There was an agreeable sound parading around the bar and Claire felt like she needed to shrink and fade away. She hated when everyone staring at her. 

“Lowery, shut your mouth and lets go.” Owen shouted, the whole bar going silent. He was almost towering around everyone, their fear of him growing. Claire stepped forward, taking hold of his arm which immediately softened Owen. 

“Let me try.” Claire asked him. He had a look in his eye that told Claire he knew not to argue with her; he would lose. He nodded. Claire stepped up to Lowery, his legs failing him as he spun around. He almost fell over before Claire caught onto him. “Hi, Lowery.” she greeted with a bright smile. Lowery smiled back, his breath catching Claire’s nose and the whiskey was overpowering. He didn’t seem to realise it was Claire at first, as though he couldn’t see her. “Can you do me a favour?” she began to ask, he nodded. Claire saw a pair of glasses resting on the floor. She bent down and picked them, before she rose, placing them on Lowery’s face. “Can you go home and sleep this off?” Lowery looked at Claire before nodding. 

Claire and Owen stayed inside the station for most of the day. Lowery went home and stayed there, and apparently most of the town was thankful to Claire for it. She didn’t understand at first until Owen explained that Lowery has been known to get very drunk and ruin some things in town. He’s hurt himself and others before and the last time it happened, Lowery was given a warning by the judge; if he was detained again, he could be in a serious amount of trouble. The town was very close knit and hadn’t warmed to Claire in her time being there. For her to do what she did today was a big thing for them. Claire was happy for that.

Claire and Owen decided to call it a night, heading up the stairs. “It was nice that you stuck up for me today.” Claire mentioned, hiking up her skirt as she walked. 

“It was the right thing to do.” Owen shrugged. They reached the top of the stairs and Claire embraced Owen, much to his surprise. 

“Thank you Owen.” she mentioned in a nod. He suddenly became confused. 

“For what?” he asked. He was beginning to assume it was the bar thing again, but it wasn’t. 

“Getting me the dresses.” she bit onto her lip. Owen became bashful, his hand rubbing onto the back of his neck as he rocked on the heels of his feet.

“Oh, I didn’t -” he muttered.

“You're the only person in town that talks to me.” she laughed. “Thank you.” Claire breathed out before Owen extended his hand to her arm. His hold on her was tight, but reassuring. Claire held her breath. Her heart was beating fast and hard, like it couldn’t be stopped. She waited. 

“It was no trouble.” he smiled before he leaned in close and kissed her cheek. Owen didn’t seem phased by it, just said goodnight and went to his room. Claire stood in shock for a few moments before turning to go into her room. She finally let out her breath before she gave a soft giggle. It had been the first time in a very long time that she had been treated with a kindness that no man showed her. She was getting more invested with him. Falling for him. But that didn’t mean it was mutual, Claire had to remind herself. 

 

*~*~*

 

A week had passed, only a few incidences but nothing too severe. Claire spent all of her time with Owen. He was nice and kind, a little foolish but it was very endearing. Claire was warming to him more than parts of her would have liked. She began getting curious about him when women would enter the station giving Owen gifts. It always happened, they gave him things so he could live comfortable; most of the time it was food, so at least the town knew Owen’s cooking was horrible. 

Every interaction Owen had with the women, he would act skittish, like he was afraid of them all. They would try and get to know him a little more, get to touch his arm as Claire tried to stay invisible. They didn’t mind Claire now in the town, but Claire just loved watching Owen fumble about. It was very unusual for him. They flirted with him before he would take the gifts and usher the women out. They all wanted their chance with the handsome Sheriff. Owen put away another gift before Claire sat on Owen’s desk. He turned to her, wondering what she was doing. 

“Sheriff,” she started, swaying her legs and Owen cleaned his throat. He sat down beside her. “Are you experienced?” she asked plainly. 

“With what?” he took his mug of coffee as he relaxed somewhat on the desk. 

“Pleasing a woman.” she smirked and Owen spat out his drink in shock. He started to cough in surprise. “You’re a handsome fella; strong jaw, tough arms and hips to make any girl swoon.” she remarked and Owen looked at her for a moment. She smiled as she looked at the fool. He smirked back at her. “But, you act a little distant around women sometimes.” she nudged him lightly before he laughed and put down his coffee.

“I’ve had my fair share of ladies.” he reassured her. 

“Any whores?” Claire didn’t met his eye, just looking down at her boots. 

“A few.” he didn’t lie, his tone told her that. He cleared his throat briefly before he stood up and began to pace the room. “Some make you work for it. Others just want it over and done with.” he told her. It was odd hearing it from the other end. Claire was used to telling the whore stories, not hearing them. 

“I make ‘em work for it.” Claire laughed and Owen looked at her, stopping his pacing and taking a place against the large cell in the corner. “If you want to be pleased right, gotta work for it right.” she gave a confident shrug and smiled at Owen, who seemed shocked and unable to do anything else but chuckle. 

“Your pride is often too stunning to comprehend, Miss Dearing.” he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I ain’t ashamed of what I’ve done. I just wish I could of found a decent man who would work for me, not what I’ll give him in exchange for a few dollars. He just wants to hold me and to love me like every man should love a lady.” Claire said in blissful words. She sighed, her feet kicking up and Owen was smiling at her, a fondness in his eyes. His mouth opened, as though he wanted to say something, but he kept it to himself. “But then again, I didn’t seem like a lady in some of them corsets.” she sighed again, faking a laugh. 

“You’ve always been a lady, Claire.” Owen said, a small tug at his lip with his teeth before Claire shook her head. 

“Well, if you ever get me into bed, you can see if I’m always a lady.” she smirked and Owen physically stiffened. Claire had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. There was a knock at the station door which made Owen slip off the bars of the cell. Claire jumped up from the desk and moved around to the other side, organising some of Owen’s things. 

“You free, Sheriff?” It was Lowery, his hand pressed to his chest as he was combing back his hair with his opposite hand. 

“Lowery, uh, yes. Yes I am.” Owen muttered, walking towards Lowery and Claire smirking up at the flustered Sheriff. 

“I wanted to apologise for my behaviour.” he began, than turned to Claire suddenly. “Especially to you, Red Woman.” he nodded at her. Claire took a deep breath before giving a wide smile.

“It’s okay, I -” she started.

“Her name is Claire.” Owen interrupted. Claire felt a little overwhelmed all of a sudden. She didn’t expect to any apology from the town, and she didn’t mind that much; she had done some horrible things. So this, an apology of some kind, was enough to have Claire smiling. Then, Owen corrected the use of her old bandit name. She didn’t even know what to do. 

“Apologies, Claire.” Lowery nodded to her again. “I acted very rudely to you and you managed to calm me down.” he began thanking her in a small way; Claire lay a hand on her chest and smiled back at Lowery. “So thank you, and I am very sorry.” he said again. 

“Like I was saying, It’s fine. I’m just glad it didn’t end badly.” she reassured him. 

 

*~*~*

 

A cold snap broke over the town and Claire shivered in her bed. She couldn’t bare to lie in her bed for another moment. She jumped up from her bed, tried to find anything warm to put over herself as she started to race around her room. She just needed to get warm and it was the first thing she could think of. 

It had been two weeks since the day Lowery apologised and Claire had been getting on better with the town’s people. Owen and Claire had been getting closer, small moments of laughter and exchanging stories, it was just good to get to know him. But Claire was falling for Owen, for the way he acted, his smile, and the beautiful way he looked at her. There were so many reasons she didn’t want to be falling for Owen, it was just poor timing. And one other problem. It was big and it scared her more than anything had ever scared Claire. 

Claire kept running around her room for some time until her door was opened quickly. “What are you doing in here?” Owen asked quickly. His eyes widened and as did Claire’s. Owen was shirtless and only had his trousers on to act decent; they weren’t even buttoned up. Owen was startled by seeing Claire in her nightgown. “Oh, god, sorry. I don’t know, it just sounded like something weird was going on.” he started to avert his eyes. 

“I’m freezing.” Claire’s teeth clattered together and Owen looked at her as she stood in the middle of the room, shaking from the cold. 

“You room is a whole lot colder than mine.” he remarked. Well, it had to be if he could sleep shirtless. “C’mon.” he opened up the door for her. Claire’s brow furrowed.

“What?” she asked. 

“Sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.” he said, nodding for her to leave and go to his room. She walked to him, smiling as she passed him. 

“Thank you.” she said over her shoulder. 

Owen’s room was much like Claire’s, but Claire knew instantly why Owen’s room was warmer. He had a fireplace where Claire had none. She saw his bed, which was bigger and seemed comfier than her own. She almost raced over to it, jumping into it and curling herself in the warm sheets. She smiled at Owen as he took some sheets from the top of the bed. He set himself on the floor and they stayed there for some time. 

Owen began to shiver loudly, his teeth clattering like Claire’s only a few moments before. It must have been freezing on the floor but Owen wasn’t saying anything about it. Owen was going to freeze to death before he wanted to be a brave man about it all. Claire groaned before rising up in the bed and calling at Owen.

“Owen,” Claire gestured, her hand patting the bed beside her. 

“I shouldn’t.” he shook his head and Claire rolled her eyes.

“Is there any harm?” she shrugged and Owen seemed to question it. 

“There may be.” he groaned as he stood up from his blankets on the floor. He spread them on the bed once more.

“Just get here, you scared fool.” Claire moved over to the other side of the bed and was facing Owen as he got in the bed. They were both cuddling up to themselves in the bed. Then, they caught each other’s eyes and everything was standing still. Claire’s heart was beating heavily in her chest. She wanted it to stop, because it was making her think desperate things and longing for Owen. She should turn over in the bed, but she couldn’t do it. Owen didn’t move and Claire edged closer, giving into her thoughts. 

“Claire…” Owen muttered but Claire’s lips found his quickly, tasting for the first time his delicate lips. They were soft and gave back the right amount of heat that Claire was searching for. Owen let his lips press hard against hers before Claire pulled away. She bit her lip as she looked at him.

“Sorry, I wanted to do that ever since you first smiled.” she gave in a small giggle and hid her face away. Owen’s rough finger touched underneath her chin, bringing her gaze up to his. 

“Then shut me up, cause I really want to kiss you aga-” he started and Claire tugged on his shoulders, bringing him over her and catching his lips with her own. 


	15. Sheriff And A Bandit pt3

Claire didn’t even know how it started, just that it was escalating to a place where she never wanted it to stop. She would regret it though, she knew that. There was someone who would be furious if they found out. But Claire wasn’t going to stop. She didn’t want to. She wanted Owen more than anything else in her life. Owen’s lips stay firmly on Claire’s, his tongue tasting at the seam of her lips. Claire cupped Owen’s face, taking him away just enough so she could breathe for a moment. 

“I’m sorry, I uh, I shouldn’t have -” Owen started to mutter on, but Claire giggled, bringing his face back down to hers, her lips pressing to his sweetly. Owen curled his arm around her back, bringing her in tightly. Claire could feel through her nightgown Owen’s burning chest, how his skin seemed warm constantly no matter where Claire placed her hands. She let her fingers follow down his face to his back and feeling the lines ingrained around his bones. He was pure ecstasy to touch. 

Owen tugged at the strings of Claire’s nightgown and then his hands went down, taking her nightgown over her head. When Claire had sex with men when she was still a whore, she kept her gown on, sometimes still keeping on her corset because it made her chest fuller. So in this moment, when Owen got to see Claire, no restrictions, she felt herself become ashamed, her skin marked with bruises and scars. And yet, when Owen’s eyes met Claire once more, there was no look of guilt, or that he revolted in her looks, just a look of pure happiness. 

He let her rest back down, his lips trailing down her neck and grazing her nipples as he continued his way down. Claire’s hand found Owen’s hair, tangling into the small curls with her fingers. Just as Claire thought Owen was going to go lower, he sat up and started to move his trousers down. His erection was now more visible than the line that had defined itself in his pants, but Claire wasn’t expecting him at all. 

Owen lowered himself down, finally kicking down his pants off his feet and he returned to the last place he kissed. He pushed up her knees, hooking one leg over his shoulder. A moment later, Claire left Owen’s lips touch softly against her sex, a light tongue running over it, just teasing her. Claire gasped loudly, her hand in his hair again and tugging at it. He was just making sure Claire was wet enough for him, but it was driving her crazy. He would wrap his lips around her clit, let his tongue dance around it. Claire arched her back and Owen hummed in between her legs. 

“Please, Owen, please.” she whimpered. “Don’t make me wait any longer.” Claire found herself begging. Owen didn’t spend much time there after she whined. Owen positioned himself at her entrance before he guided himself inside her. Claire gripped onto Owen’s shoulders and her first instinct was to please him like she would do with any other client. But that wasn’t Owen, he just wanted Claire. She rotated her hips against him and he gave a chesty growl. Claire gave a soft chuckle and kept Owen close. 

He was giving soft thrusts, never pushing himself too hard, but Claire was used to far worse. Claire let hands run down Owen’s back before she gripped into his backside. Owen gave a chesty grunt before Claire made him give a hard thrust forward. Owen moaned, falling forward slightly. Claire made sure he was keeping a harder pace than he was doing before. He gripped hard into her hip and driving himself to his base every time. 

Claire could feel the starting of heat in the pit of her belly, tugging at her and begging her to release it all. She wanted it so badly, but she needed Owen with her, just to help her get there. Owen thrust hard into Claire her hands digging into Owen’s skin and moaning loudly; she doubted that people didn’t hear her. “Oh, god, Owen!” she screamed and Owen’s lips went to Claire’s neck. He nipped at her skin and let his lips just graze her flesh. Claire’s thighs tightened as her orgasm was growing and Owen gave a hard thrust, sending Claire over the edge. She caught her hand into the bars of the bed frame, her fingers tightening painful around them. 

But Claire knew she wasn’t ready to give up yet, she wanted to have Owen all to herself, just to feel him inside her for longer. Claire turned them over, making her place on his lap comfortably. Owen smiled up at Claire in surprise as she leaned over him, taking hold of the bed frame again. She used it to leverage herself up and down on Owen’s lap. Owen’s hands ran up and down Claire’s thighs, rough fingers lightly caressing her skin. Claire made sure she rolled her hips in slowly slides down on his shaft. Owen gritted his teeth and let his head roll into the pillow. He took a hard hold into Claire’s hips, and she felt her inner walls clamping down around Owen. 

Owen gave a chesty moan, it strangled out of his throat as he tried to contain himself and way Claire’s body was responding to him. Claire couldn’t help her rising climax and gripped into Owen’s shoulders. It only took her a few more thrusts with friction against her clit to send her over the edge again. That was when Owen came too, his orgasm filling Claire and Owen’s moans of pleasure were tight and deep. He was trying so hard to contain his moans, so no one could hear, but there was no point. Claire gave a few strides on top of Claire, helping them both ride out the last part of their orgasms. Owen suddenly rose, kissing up the length of her neck before finally capturing her lips with his. She smiled into it. 

 

*~*~*

 

That actually happened. Claire was coming to the realisation that the thing that they just in Owen’s bed actually happened. She had sex with Owen. That was the last thing she expected to happen that day. Claire was lying on top of Owen’s chest, her finger playing with the hair upon his chest. Owen was smoking a cigar, the thick smoke hovering around the room. Claire rose slightly, taking the cigar out from between his teeth and bringing it to her mouth. 

She gave a soft puff at the cigar, remembering the taste and how long it had been since her last one. She breathed out the smoke before she sighed and rested back on Owen’s chest. He gave a laugh before he put out the cigar and let his fingers curl around strands of Claire’s hair. She stared up at him in bliss. 

“You never said,” Claire started. “Why are you so skittish around women?” she asked and Owen sighed. It was a heavy sigh, like he had been dreading this conversation long before Claire arrived. It worried her. 

“I was married once,” he said plainly, which made Claire sit up slightly. “About seven years ago. We were married for six months before she was killed.” he pursed his lips and then cleared his throat. “That’s why I became sheriff, so that kind of stuff wouldn’t happen to anyone else’s wife.” he sighed and Claire felt her heart shatter. 

“A bandit came into town, didn’t he?” she avoided looking directly at him, only letting her fingertips touch against his skin. 

“A mean guy, came and robbed up. My wife had a small job at the bank and was shot when she tried to stop him.” he gave a vague shrug, a moment in the past that he could not change, no matter how many times he wished differently. 

“That’s why the town didn’t like me.” Claire came to that conclusion quickly and rested her cheek heavier on Owen’s chest. 

“She was the Mayor’s daughter. Everyone loved her and it hit us all damn hard when we lost her.” he explained, his fingers running along Claire’s jaw. She hummed lightly at his touch, the feeling of roughness and softness all in one touch was something she adored. 

“My nephews hate me.” she muttered. 

“Huh?” Owen gave a chuckle, confused as to where Claire was going. She sat up, resting her chin on Owen’s chest as she spoke.

“I’m sharing, okay? It’s what normal people do.” 

“Okay.” he nodded for her to continue. 

“Well, hate is a strong word. The younger one, Gray, he adores hearing from me. But, the oldest boy, Zach, dislikes the thought of me. Hasn’t seen me in seven years and doesn’t know what I do.” she explained, biting her lip in disappointment in herself. “He just thinks I stopped visiting ‘cause I wanted a life without my family.” she shrugged and sighed.

“He doesn’t know you give them money?” Owen realised. 

“What boy wants to know his Aunt is a whore and a bandit? Not many. It would ruin many chances of him finding a wife.” Claire let her cheek lie flat on Owen’s chest, her ear catching his heartbeat. 

“So you’ve been staying away for their sake?” he said in a disappointed voice. 

“I want to go back one day. Just to see them.” she sighed again. It was one of those things she didn’t like talking about because it made her sad, but there was something about Owen that made it...okay.

“I’ll take you one day. We’ll get out here and we’ll visit.” he said excitedly and Claire bit onto her lip. She was in trouble.

“Thank you.” Claire muttered into his chest, kissing it once before she drifted off into sleep.

 

*~*~*

 

When Claire and Owen awoke, there was gunfire. Claire hated hearing that sound. She raced up out of the bed and peered out of the room before racing over to her own room. She got changed quickly, managing to quickly latch on her corset and place a dress over herself. She grabbed a gun from her dresser, making sure it was ready to fire if she really needed it. She quickly slipped on her boots when she heard someone outside her window yell.

“We want the red woman, now!” they shouted about the town, firing a shot into the air. She could see at least four of her men riding around on the horses outside and Claire quickly raced down the stairs, barely able to catch her breath. 

“Get off your damn horses, you goddamn fools!” she barked orders quickly. They all turned towards the sheriff station and got off their horses as she ordered. Everyone in the town that hid themselves away in their homes was watching intently. 

“Boss!” One of her men cheered in excitement, until his brow furrowed. “What the hell are you wearing that for?” he asked. Claire took the side of the dress and looked down at herself, suddenly conscious that she had never worn a dress in front of her men before. 

“It’s what women wear. You’ve seen your wives in them.” she remarked quickly, dropping the dress and placing her hands on her hips. The gun was heavy and hit her hip painfully. 

“Just never expected to see you in one boss.” he shrugged. 

“Well, I set myself good and right here. Working off my debt.” she smiled over her shoulder, hearing Owen struggling to find his gun and some shoes. He was muttering and yelling to himself, as he did every morning. 

“So you’d avoid the rope?” he asked in a delicate whisper.

“Would you rather see me hang?” she asked him, her eyebrows raised in questioning.

“No, boss.” he shook his head, never wanting to see her hang. Her men loved her like family. She was thankful for that. But there was something bothering her more than anything, it was making her skin crawl and her blood run cold.

“Did you tell Mister Boss?” she whispered to him and he shook his head.

“No.” he avoided her eye, as if he were guilty. Oh, no.  “But he found out. He’s coming.” he whispered back and Claire went close to him. 

“Make sure everyone is safe and make sure no one can get inside.” she urged him, looking back inside and seeing Owen slowly making his way down the stairs. 

“On your word boss.” he nodded and whistled at the other men, they immediately started to race from door to door, begging them to stay inside and not open up for anyone. One single horse rode into town, everything was quiet except for the hard hooves. 

“Well, look at you, Claire.” The wicked voice said, a small laugh in his words that made Claire’s stomach turn. “Never thought I’d see you in a dress unless you stole it off a rich old lady.” he was getting closer to the station, Claire started up the steps again, making her way towards the front door of the station. 

“I ain’t like you Vic, I only rob when I have to.” she snarled back and Vic’s expression dropped. 

“Oh, get off your damn high-horse Claire.” he shouted back to her. Claire gripped tighter to the gun in her hand. She didn’t want to use it, but she would. Especially against Vic. 

“Who the hell is that?” Owen tucked himself behind Claire, adjusting his vest and Claire didn’t want him here. Claire wanted Owen safe and for him not to talk to Vic. She couldn’t handle him finding out. 

“Vic Hoskin.” she said through gritted teeth.

“The gunslinger who has more money than most of the county?” Owen exclaimed and Vic smirked. He got off his horse, tying its reins to the posts of the station and his foot resting up on one of the steps. 

“And that woman right there, she’s my wife.” Vic pointed to Claire and every ounce of air that was once in her lungs was gone. She felt hollow. 


	16. Sheriff And A Bandit pt4

Claire didn’t know what to do, it was like she was frozen in the single moment and had no way of getting out of it. Vic stepped up to her, his presence overwhelming and Claire could feel her chest becoming tight. She began breathing harshly, begging for her feet to move, but they didn’t give an inch. 

“Get out of here, Vic!” she said through gritted teeth, her words giving her the motivation to move. Vic’s hand caught onto Claire, dragging her back to him. 

“Darlin’, I want that good sugar,” his hand reached around her waist and pulled her body against his. Claire moved the gun around in her hand, gripping the barrel and swinging the handle of the gun to his eye. He winced away before turning to Claire, ready to strike her with the back of his hand. “I forgot how fiery you could be.” he smirked, about to strike down another one of his hard hands. 

“Hands off the lady.” Owen said over Claire’s shoulder. He cocked his gun, aiming it directly at Vic. Owen’s eyes were welling up and his chest visibly thumbing in anger and betrayal. Claire felt her heart sink in her chest.

“She hasn’t been a lady for years, buddy.” Vic laughed and Claire twirled the gun in her hand. She took hold of the handle and pointed the barrel to the edge of Vic’s temple. 

“He said hands off.” she spat back, her lips quivering but her gun staying steady. Vic raised his hands up as he backed down the stairs. He didn’t dare try her. 

“I’ll be back for you.” he warned her as he got to his horse. He kicked the horse’s sides and looked back at Claire. “If you don’t come with me, this entire town dies.” he yelled as dust picked up behind him. And then it was just Claire and Owen, his eyes fixed on her with a loathing Claire never wanted to see in Owen’s eyes.

Owen marched back inside and Claire’s first instinct was to race after him. She got inside, and at the first flat surface, she placed down her gun and went over to Owen, trying desperately to hold him, but he merely threw his hands up. 

“You’re fucking married!” he shouted down at her, suddenly towering over her. She had only ever been scared like that once in her life. The first time Vic screamed at her and slapped her across the face. She wouldn’t feel weak for him.

“What else was I supposed to do, Owen!” Claire shouted back, shoving Owen in the chest. He backed away and his brow was furrowed tightly. “I had one gun to my name, a few dimes and a dress that was wearing thin.” she explained in cracked words. “He told me if I married him, I would live a good life. I wanted a good life!” she yelled and swallowed hard, keeping the tears at bay. 

“He just didn’t tell you how you got that good life, did he?” he was judging her, his tone sarcastic and hurtful. “Did he tell you he murdered my wife?!” The words took Claire off guard. She didn’t want it to be true, but the look on Owen’s face when he saw Vic was all she needed to cemented her suspicions. 

“He taught me to shoot, what to do, what to say.” Claire explained, taking steps back but there was a look on Owen’s face that read like anger and utter sadness. 

“How to kill?” he chuckled in disappointment. 

“I’ve never killed a soul!” Claire pushed on Owen’s chest again. Ever touch that Claire laid on Owen, he repulsed away, his top lip quivering. 

“But you know how.” he muttered but didn’t look at her. Claire felt the lump in her throat more than ever. 

“Yes.” she mumbled, hoping that Owen didn’t hear her. He sighed in recognition that he had. His eyes were now on her, sadness lingering as he took in the view of her. “Don’t look at me like I’ve changed, Owen.” she begged him, backing away. It was better when he was disappointed with her. She couldn’t take his sad eyes on her. “Do you think something has changed? Do you not want me anymore?” she pursed her lips, pleading with herself not to show an ounce of weakness. Owen rubbed at the back of his neck. 

“Nothing’s changed Claire! You’re perfect to me, I think you’re the perfect woman. But you’re married and that means I can’t -” he stopped himself just in time for Claire to interrupt him. 

“Can’t what? Sleep with you without having you feel guilty?” she raged harshly. Claire wasn’t afraid of putting herself down just to get back at Owen. If he was going to make her feel bad for embracing her feelings for him than she would be furious towards Owen.

“I can’t marry you!” Owen burst out. Claire’s breath caught in her throat and when she finally breathed out, it was just a whimper escaping her lips. She definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.” she mumbled as the small whimpers fell from her mouth. She wanted them to stop but as Owen came closer to her, she let herself fall into his hold, his rough hands caressing her face tenderly. 

“I mean it Claire. I don’t want to lose you.” His forehead rested against hers and everything seemed so fine. Yet, it wasn’t. 

“I need to go with Vic.” she muttered, a sniff following her words. Owen moved his face away from hers, his hands still cupping her face. 

“You wouldn’t leave with him.” he let out in shock. It was almost as though he was begging her not to. Claire swallowed hard, taking hold of Owen’s hands and bringing one palm to her lips. 

“I don’t want to go back with Vic. That’s the last thing I want to do. But, this town is yours and it’s important to me that he doesn’t steal anything from it.” Claire avoided looking directly at Owen, just letting everything stir in the air and Owen tightened his grip on Claire.

“Please don’t go with him.” Now Owen was begging. Claire pulled herself away from Owen painfully. He looked at her with desperate eyes as she backed herself up to the base of the stairs. 

“If I can save this town by going with him. Than I am. Please don’t look at me like I’m the bad guy. Please.” she breathed out and made her way up half the steps before stopping. “And no. He never told me he killed your wife. I figured it out when you told me. I couldn’t feel worse about marrying him after you told me.” she swallowed after her soft words and continued to her room. She didn’t want to leave her room all day, just stay in there and feel like she was responsible for this town’s demise. 

 

*~*~*

 

The night drew it, curtaining the sky in black and candlelit windows. Claire watched them all light up one by one, just small dim stars that could be touched in windowsills. Claire didn’t move from her spot on the bed. Every time she came into her room after her meals, she would curl up on her bed, the cold gripping her but she merely stared out the window. 

The creaking of floorboards spooked Claire. She sat up abruptly, the gun under her pillow was wrenched from underneath and pointed towards the door. Owen raised his hands and Claire sighed. She put her gun back to where it was and huddled herself up in her sheets. Owen kept moving, eventually climbing into the bed next to Claire. His arms wrapped around her comfortably and wouldn’t dare let her go for a single moment. 

“Please don’t leave with him.” Owen’s pleas were heart wrenching. Claire let herself rest into his chest, Owen’s hands latching on around Claire’s, just trying to keep her exactly where she was and to never let her leave. “I’m begging you, don’t leave with him.” Another plea that made Claire’s heart ache. 

“I will save this town, and everything will be okay.” Claire muttered, Owen’s arms tightening around her. They were keeping each other warm and Claire didn’t mind. She fell into her sleep easily, the comforting arms around her begged her to. She complied. 

 

*~*~*

 

Claire woke to hear a commotion outside the station. It was Vic arguing with some of the men that were protecting the homes of people in town. “Why the fuck are you all following that damn woman there?” he yelled at one of them, his hands bound in his shirt. Claire wrapped a robe around herself, tucking the gun at her side and hurried down the stairs. She knocked the front door open and everyone looked at her. 

“Your men always like me better.” she replied angrily. Vic let go of his shirt and the man backed away slowly. Vic tried to step closer but Claire was repulsed by this man she was abused by for seven long years. 

“They like your legs and your ass.” he smirked, and Claire let off the gun, firing in front of his foot. He backed off quickly. Claire heard Owen jump from upstairs, surprised by the sudden gunshot. 

“They like the fact that I wouldn’t leave them if they died! I treat them with respect and like they are family. You don’t give two shits about them!” she shouted, coiling the gun once more and Vic shook his head. 

“What men would follow you over me?” he laughed and Claire shrugged, not even letting the question phase her. 

“Whole armies would kneel to me before they even shook your damn hand.” she pointed the gun directly at Vic and his eyes were suddenly scared. He was finally frightened of her. “Now get the fuck out of this town.” she barked and shot near Vic’s foot. He jumped and his brow creased, a scowl building up on his face. He huffed before getting on his horse and riding off the same way he had done the day before. The town emerged and thanked Claire the whole of the day, but Claire knew it wouldn’t be the last time they saw Vic that week. He wouldn’t let this go. 

 

*~*~*

 

Claire didn’t want Owen going out that day as over the past week Vic had been coming to the town. That day, though, Vic hadn’t been seen. It scared Claire more than she’d like to admit. 

“Just be careful, okay?” she asked him that day, Owen’s hands resting on the perfect dress she was wearing. He smiled, leaning in and pressing a soft pair of lips against hers. He smiled into it before he let his forehead rest against hers. 

“I’ll be fine. Go inside, okay?” he asked her, but Claire bit her lip in worry. There was a cold rush running through her veins. She knew this day wasn’t going to end well. It was just a matter of time. 

It didn’t take long for the day to turn to shit. There was the faint sound of a painful grunt coming from in the middle of town. This wasn’t good. Claire picked up her gun, pulling herself from the station and rushing out into the street. Vic was towering over Owen as he was on the dusted ground. He had blood staining his face and Vic’s gun slamming down against Owen’s face like it had seemed to have done before. 

“Have you been sleeping with my woman?!” Vic yelled at Owen, kicking up into Owen’s stomach again. Vic must have seen Owen kiss her that morning. She had put him in danger.  “Why are you kissing my wife! She’s my property!” Vic pointed his gun directly at Owen’s head, but Claire was fast. She let the gun fire, hitting Vic in the hand. He cursed loudly and Claire cocked the gun once more. 

“Owen, get up.” she told him. He complied, watching Vic and then turned his attention back to Claire. He hurried out of the way, going to Claire and some people from the town helping Owen clean up. 

“Vic,” Claire started, watching the blood pour from Vic’s injured hand. He watched her and he knew what was going to happen. He stood up straight and fixed his shoulders. “Remember all those times you told me how good I was at firing this gun, but I’d never be as good as you?” she asked him. He nodded, a tight scowl on his face. “Well, I faked a lot of things in our marriage.” she remarked. The gun fired the bullet, landing in Vic’s chest. He was taken back and fell to the ground in a heavy mess. He was draining quickly before his leg that was bent finally went limp. 

“How the hell did you do that?” Owen asked in shock, just as Claire’s gun fell from her hand. He walked over to her, his face only a few bruises and a little blood just on the side of his eye. 

“I never miss.” she said her chest feeling tight. Owen took hold of Claire and embracing her tightly, the realisation of what she had done was now flowing through her. She had just killed someone. Not just someone; the man that had beaten her, taken away her freedom and told her she was nothing. And he was gone. Because of her. She cried into Owen’s chest, in relief and shame of what she had done. It was a mixture of emotion that was too overwhelming to hold inside. 

 

*~*~*

 

Three months had passed, the town in a blissful union and happiness pervading the air. A dance was being held in the church hall, which the whole town of Quill was excited for. It was a fun event that everyone in town turned up to. Claire had been begging Owen to go, just so she could have the chance to dance. It had been so long. Owen didn’t argue, but he told her that he wouldn’t be dancing himself, which disappointed Claire. 

The dance was becoming loud, the stomping of feet against hardwood floor echoing along with the band. It was too exciting not to get caught up in the happiness of the dance. Claire let her feet take her, dancing along with everyone else and having an amazing night. Owen stood against the wall, a smile growing on his face whenever he saw her. Then, there was a look on Owen’s face that was determined and he made his way through the crowds of people. 

Owen tugged on Claire’s arm, taking her out of the church hall, just leaving them on the steps of the church. He gave a sigh, like he was preparing himself for something. It seemed big with the way his hands shook as they touched against Claire’s. He gave a wide smile before setting himself down on his knee, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a small ring. 

“Marry me, Claire Dearing.” he asked in a chuckle, just letting the excitement of the moment get to him. Claire covered her mouth. She never expected this moment to happen. She never thought she deserved it. “Be the perfect woman I know you are. But be it with me by your side.” he asked, just waiting with excited eyes. 

“Of course I’ll marry you, fool.” she smiled and Owen practically cheered, jumping up and placing the ring on her finger. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked Claire clean off her feet. He twirled them both around, his lips colliding with her neck and Claire giggled as his beard scraped along her skin. 

 

*~*~*

 

A year had past, a marriage said and done. No child as of yet, but that didn’t mean they weren’t trying. Owen wanted to surprise Claire by taking them on a trip for their anniversary. She didn’t know where, but she was excited none the less. When they got out from the carriage that Owen had hired, Claire was shocked to see the house they were visiting. She looked at him in stunned silence, his hand finding hers. 

“Are you ready?” Owen asked, raising Claire’s hand to his lips, pressing them delicately against her skin. Claire smiled as she leaned into him. She nodded. Owen knocked on Karen’s door and she saw Zach answer it. He didn’t look disappointed, he was surprised. A small smile grew on his face as Claire’s heart felt light. Everything was falling into place. 


End file.
